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ARCTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA. 


ARCTIC 


ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA, 


OB, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  WITH  THE  ARCTIC 
WHALEMEN, 


HERBERT    L.    ALDRICH, 

WHO  MADE   THE   CRUISE   WITH   THE    FLEET   OF    1887. 


chicago  and  new  york: 
Rand,  McNally  &  company,  Publishers. 

1889. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  Rand,   jMcNally  &  Co. 


F 


TO  MY  MOTHER. 


<») 


i*aVbl5 


PKEFACE. 


While  living  in  New  Bedford,  I  f onnd  a  most 
interesting  field  of  study  in  tlie  whaling  in- 
dustry. Its  records  spread  out  before  me  a 
series  of  marvelous  adventures  and  what  seemed 
like  foolhardy  attempts  to  outdo  human  pos- 
sibilities. The  more  I  studied,  the  more  fasci- 
nated I  became.  Finally  I  determined  to  put 
into  print  a  few  short  sketches.  This,  however, 
was  merely  retelling  what  had  already  been 
told  by  other  writers,  for  there  are  several 
readable  books  on  whaling  in  general,  and 
sperm- whaling,  in  particular.  These  books  are, 
however,  long  since  out  of  print,  with  perhaps 
one  or  two  exceptions. 

I  found  the  subject  of  Arctic,  or  Bowhead, 
whaling  untouched  by  any  author  except  in  a 
most  general  and  meagre  manner,  although  it 
offers  richer  material  than  other  kinds  of  whal- 
ing.    It  is  carried  on  in  a  region  beset  with  in- 

(9) 


X  PEEFACE. 

conceivable  dangers  and  risks;  and  in  a  region 
practically  unknown,  for  no  writer  has  ever 
visited  it,  though  whalemen  had  been  there 
every  year  .for  forty  years. 

The  moment  seemed  to  me  ripe  to  i^reserve 
this  valuable  material,  for  modern  science  is 
fast  removing  the  picturesque  excitement  of 
whaling;  therefore  I  have  made  the  cruise  and 
pictured  the  subject  as  comprehensively,  yet 
briefly,  as  I  could  with  my  pen  and  camera. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to 
the  New  Bedford  and  San  Francisco  whaling 
agents,  for  every  courtesy  that  I  could  have 
asked  for,  and  to  the  many  whaling  masters 
who  received  me  with  such  cordiality  and 
hospitality. 

HERBERT  L.  ALDRICH. 

Spkingfield,  Mass. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Icing  in  Behring  Sea » .     1'S 

CHAPTER  II. 
xVmoug  the  Siberian  Eskimo 42 

CHAPTER  III. 
Along  the  Shores  of  Nakooruklaml 63 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Whaling 90 

CHAPTER  V. 
From  Point  Barrow,  Home 114 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Nakooruks , 138 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Some  Typical  Experiences 188 


(11) 


ARCTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

lOING  IN   BEHEING  SEA. 

The  Young  Phoenix  was  one  of  the  few  ships 
belonging  to  the  Arctic  whaling  fleet  that  did 
not  sail  in  the  fall  of  1886,  but  was  one  of  the 
first  to  sail  in  the  spring  of  1887.  This  was 
most  fortunate  for  me,  for  it  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see,  at  its  best,  the  preparation  neces- 
sary to  fit  a  vessel  for  the  Arctic  cruise.  In 
order  to  do  this  fitting  thoroughly,  each  ship,  in 
leaving  San  Francisco,  cruises  for  a  month  or  so 
in  the  Central  Pacific. 

I  sailed  from  San  Francisco  on  this  ship  on 
Thursday,  March  3,  1887.  The  day  was  rainy, 
chilly,  and  squally,  but  we  said  our  "good- 
bye," and  before  noon  were  under  tow,  bound 
through  the  Golden  Gate.  The  beautiful  harbor 
looked  dreary   enough.     Heavy  clouds   over- 

(IS) 


14  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBEEIA. 

Imng  both  shores.     Frequent  squalls   stirred 
up  a  choppy  sea  and  bedecked  it  with  white- 
caps.     A  drizzling  rain  chilled  us  through  and 
through.     Huge  waves  tossed  the  good  ship 
about  and  swashed  over  the  rail  upon  the  deck. 
The  only  sign  of  life  was  our  little  tug,  puffing 
away  as  she  would  rise  on  the  toj)  of  a  wave, 
then  disappear  behind  it.     Adding  to  this  the 
fact  that  we  thirty-five  men  were  bound  to  a 
region  where  three  hundred  lives  had  been  lost 
in  the  past  thirty  years,  and  where  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  property  have  been  wrecked, 
the  occasion  was  far  from  joyful.    Very  few 
words  were  spoken  beyond  the  necessary  orders 
to  the  sailors.  After  we  had  passed  through  the 
Golden  Gate,  the  little  tug  dropped  us,  tooted 
her  "bon  voyage,"  and  disappeared  behind  a 
big  wave.    For  the  following  twenty-four  hours 
we  struggled  against  a  heavy  sea,  hardly  get- 
ting out  of  sight  of  land.  Then  came  a  change  in 
the  weather,  with  favorable  winds,  and  three 
weeks  of    as  perfect  weather   as  I  ever  ex- 
perienced. 

The  Voting  Phcenix  was  a  ship  of  355.39 
tons.  Although  young  in  name  she  was  old  in 
years,  having  been  built  at  Rochester,  Mass., 


ICINrr   IN"  BEIFRING  SEA.  15 

in  1822;  but  in  spite  of  lier  years  she  was  a 
stanch,  good  vessel.  Her  crew  was  comiDosed 
of  thirty-four  men,  the  captain,  M.  V.  B. 
Millard,  four  mates,  one  boat-header,  four  boat- 
steerers,  sixteen  ordinary  seamen,  three  green 
hands,  a  steward,  cook,  cooper,  steerage  boy, 
and  cabin  boy. 

Our  course  lay  in  a  southwesterly  direction 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  then 
in  a  northwesterly  and  northerly  sweep  to  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  or,  as  all  whalemen  call  them, 
the  Fox  Islands. 

Promptly  on  Monday  morning,  March  7th, 
work  was  begun  in  overhauling  the  whaleboats. 
Each  of  the  five  boats  was,  in  turn,  taken  in 
hand,  thoroughly  scrubbed,  j)ainted  outside 
and  in,  fitted  with  its  sail,  steering-gear  and 
oars.  The  whaling  ajiparatus  was  also  looked 
over  and  put  into  proper  shape  for  use.  This 
work  consumed  three  weeks.  Then  followed 
work  on  the  ship' s  rigging.  Every  spot  that 
showed,  or  threatened,  weakness  was  made  as 
good  as  new.  Sails  were  patched,  strengthened, 
or  replaced  by  new  ones;  the  hold  of  the  ship 
restowed;  in  fact,  everything  made  ship-shape. 

It  is  astonishing  what  an  amount  of  work 


16  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

there  is  to  do  on  a  whaler,  but  it  is  far  more 
astonishing  how  this  work  is  done  with  the  tools 
at  hand.  Fortunately  nearly  every  forecastle 
contains  a  variety  of  artisans.  In  ours  were  a 
carpenter,  a  painter,  and  other  men  useful  in 
the  duties  outside  of  a  common  sailor.  But 
there  were  also  men  technically  known  as 
"stijffs,"  men  whose  capabilities  are  only 
developed  in  the  direction  of  consuming  an 
abnormal  amount  of  "  salt  horse," — as  all  salt 
meat  is  called — and  ship-bread.  One  of  the 
boat-steerers,  who  also  shipjped  as  engineer, 
proved  a  good  blacksmith;  and  the  boat-header, 
a  man  who  had  spent  over  thirty  years  in 
actual  service  on  whale-ships,  was  general 
referee  on  almost  any  subject.  If  the  cooper 
could  not  make  an  article  that  was  wanted,  the 
blacksmith  or  somebody  else  could.  When  a 
rope  of  a  certain  size  was  wanted,  one  of  the 
mates  rigged  a  rope-making  machine  out  of  an 
old  barrel.  And  so  it  was,  everything  needed 
was  made  at  short  notice. 

A  whale-ship  is  no  place  for  a  passenger  or 
any  person  who  does  not  turn  to  and  work. 
Yet  time  did  not  hang  very  heavily  on  my 
hands.    There  were  a  variety  of  mostjnterest- 


ICIXG   IX   I5EIIKING   SEA.  17 

ing  characters  to  study  and  an  almost  unlimited 
supi)ly  of  subjects  for  my  camera.  Being  pro- 
vided with  a  Scovill  detective  camera,  700  films, 
and  250  Carbutt  plates,  I  was  prepared  for  all 
emergencies,  and  embraced  many.  The  one 
character  above  all  others  that  interested  and 
amused  me  was  the  cooper.  He  was  a  Scotch- 
man of  rare  rotundity  and  keen  wit.  One  noon- 
time as  I  sat  on  deck  with  my  camera,  Avatching 
for  game,  he  appeared.  The  temptation  was  too 
strong  to  resist,  and  I  photographed  him.  But 
ever  after  that  when  my  "black  ditty  box,"'  as 
he  termed  the  camera,  was  aimed  toward  him, 
he  would  either  run  or  conceal  himself.  The 
steward  was  another  striking  character,  a  good- 
natured,  intensely  superstitious,  thick-skulled 
Portuguese.  Every  morning  I  waited  in  my 
bunk  for  his  "Hey,  senor!  liouster  out!"  At 
first  his  English  seemed  very  bad,  but  after 
eight  weeks  of  his  hash  for  supper  every  night, 
I  concluded  that  it  was  not  in  English  that  he 
needed  to  take  lessons. 

Was  there  ever  a  better  place  to  study 
character  than  in  the  forecastle  ?  Portuguese, 
Scandinavians,  Germans,  Spaniards,  English- 
men, Irishmen,   Americans ;   almost  every  na- 


18  AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBEEIA. 

tionality  can  be  found  there.  The  Americans 
we  had  were  bright  fellows,  mostly  ranchmen. 
Of  course,  there  Avas  the  man  who  did  the 
tattooing,  the  accordion-jammer,  the  yam- 
spinner,  and  the  rest  of  the  famous  sailor  kind. 
Many  of  these  fellows  found  a  home  in  the 
forecastle  such  as  they  had  not  known  for  a 
long  time,  if  ever ;  not  only  good  shelter,  but 
plenty  of  wholesome  food,  and,  if  needs  be, 
warm  clothing. 

Many  things  proved  sources  of  amusement 
besides  the  j^ersonnel  of  the  crew.  There  were 
the  birds  that  escorted  us  from  San  Francisco 
to  the  Aleutian  Islands,  "pilots"  or  "San 
Francisco  pilots^'  as  the  sailors  call  them. 
These  birds  served  to  while  away  many  an  hour, 
especially  when  we  threw  overboard  a  string 
with  a  piece  of  salt  meat  tied  to  each  end.  One 
bird  would  gulp  down  one  piece  of  the  meat,  but 
before  he  could  reach  the  other  piece,  another 
bird  would  seize  it  and  perhaps  jerk  the  jjiece 
out  of  the  first  bird's  mouth;  and  these  two 
pieces  of  meat  would  go  down  and  up  one  throat 
after  another  oftentimes  for  fifteen  minutes 
before  the  string  would  break  and  two  lucky 
birds  get  the  meat,  much  to  the  envy  of  a  dozen 


ICING   IN   BEHEING   SEA.  19 

or  more  disaj)X)ointed  birds.  These  birds  never 
desert  the  shij^  until  the  Islands  are  reached. 
There,  however,  they  draw  the  line  and  seldom 
venture  farther.  When  we  returned  in  October 
ihey  were  apparently  waiting  for  us  at  the 
Islands,  and  escorted  us  back  to  San  Francisco. 
They  are  sleek-looking  birds  and  very  graceful 
when  on  the  wing.  Sailors  feel  that  their  j  ourney 
will  be  a  safe  one  when  under  the  escort  of 
these  pilots. 

The  new  men  had  to  be  taught  the  compass, 
and  the  rigging  with  its  numberless  halliards, 
doAvnhauls,  and  braces.  Two  finback  whales 
broke  the  monotony  by  boldly  disporting 
themselves  about  the  ship.  They  were  too 
small,  however,  to  bother  about.  Then  the 
rats  that  infested  the  ship  needed  attention. 
Some  sailors  will  refuse  to  go  to  sea  in  a  ship 
that  has  no  rats  on  board,  believing  that  disas- 
ter is  in  store  for  her.  But  there  was  no  cause 
for  such  complaint  on  our  ship.  Two  weeks  of 
reveling  on  the  ship's  stores  was  sufficient  to 
condemn  the  whole  rat  tribe;  and  one  calm  day 
the  deck  pot  was  filled  a  third  full  of  charcoal, 
every  crack  in  the  ship  where  it  was  possible 
for  the  fumes  to  escape,  pasted  over  with  paper 


20  ABCTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA. 

— molasses  serving  as  paste — and  the  charcoal 
set  on  fire.  The  result  was  that  flour  bags 
were  nibbled  no  more  and  the  cat's  occupation 
was  gone. 

From  the  time  we  reached  the  thirty-eighth 
IDarallel  we  experienced  nothing  but  continuous 
gales  of  wind  until  we  entered  Behring  Sea, 
For  six  days  we  lay  off  the  Aleutian  Islands 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  pass  through. 
We  had  one  night  of  susxDense  with  the  barom- 
eter at  28.2,  but  nothing  beyond  a  severe  blow 
hajDpened,  and  on  the  seventh  day,  the  forty- 
third  from  San  Francisco,  we  beat  through 
Amoughta  Pass,  the  "seventy-two"  passage 
to  whalemen,  and  entered  Behring  Sea.  Clouds 
concealed  the  volcano  and  mountain  tops  on 
each  side  of  the  pass,  leaving  only  the  snow- 
clad  shores  of  Amoughta  and  Seguam  Islands 
visible.  We  could  not  even  tell  whether  either 
volcano  was  in  action.  Being  weather-bound 
here  was  not  entirely  without  consolation,  for 
we  had  four  good  meals  from  some  cod-fish  we 
caught. 

One  of  the  officers  assured  us  that  our 
situation  was  not  a  fraction  as  aggravating  as 
beating  off  Martha's  Vineyard  twenty-one  days, 


ICING   IN   BEHRING   SEA.  21 

after  a  four  years'  spermwhaling  cruise,  with 
home — New  Bedford — less  than  forty  miles 
distant. 

I  left  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  its  long,  heavy 
swell,  most  gladly  and  willingly,  for  I  had 
become  an  easy  victim  to  its  wiles.  Three 
weeks  of  gales  and  rolling  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea  had  not  been  conducive  to  a  contented  mind 
and  settled  stomach,  but  it  added  warmth  to 
my  greeting  to  Behring  Sea,  where  there  is  very 
little  swell  except  in  a  gale.  Slowly  and  surely 
we  worked  our  course  toward  Cape  Navarin  on 
the  Asiatic  sliore,  about  latitude  62"  30'.  Just 
a  Aveek  from  the  day  we  entered  the  Sea  we 
encountered  the  ice,  and  before  nightfall  we 
had  done  considerable  "icing."  From  the 
crow's-nest  it  was  discovered  that  we  were  on 
the  edge  of  a  pack,  so,  going  southwest,  we 
skkted  it,  and  in  the  morning  found  ourselves 
among  part  of  the  fleet,  five  sails  being  in 
sight  from  the  deck,  all  keeping  off  on  account 
of  a  cold  gale  which  had  sprung  up.  The  ice 
kept  the  swell  down,  but  it  was  unsafe  to 
attempt  to  make  headway  or  enter  any  of  the 
many  "leads,''  any  one  of  which  might  lead 
us  into  the  pack,  then  close  up  and  perhaps 


22  AKCTIC   ALASKA  AND   SIBEEIA. 

hold  US    prisoner  for  weeks,  and  carry  us  off 
to  the  southwest. 

We  had  not  seen  a  sail  for  fifty-two  days, 
and  it  was  a  great  delight  to  find  ourselves 
among  so  many  of  the  fleet,  especially  as  several 
more  sails  could  be  seen  from  aloft.  AVe  could 
"speak "  nobody,  however,  on  account  of  the 
gale.  It  was  simply  "wear  ship  "  all  day  long, 
so  as  not  to  be  tangled  u]d  in  the  ice. 

Everything  seemed  very  strange  ;  on  every 
side  was  ice  ;  at  the  northeast  was  the  x^ack  ;  at 
the  west  was  the  shore— high  and  snow-clad — 
just  south  of  the  bight  under  Csi^e  Navarin. 
The  thermometer  recorded  only  twenty  degrees 
above  zero,  yet  I  found  it  difiicult  to  keep  warm, 
when  on  deck,  in  spite  of  two  winter  suits  of 
under-flannels,  a  heavy  suit  of  clothes,  a  dog- 
skin vest,  and  a  heavy  overcoat.  Leather  boots 
were  no  protection  at  all,  but  native-made  boots 
of  hair  seal  i)roved  a  great  comfort.  The 
"icing"  kept  all  hands  busy.  Two  men  were 
aloft  in  the  crow's-nest  to  pick  out  a  path  for 
the  ship,  and  watch  for  whales  ;  a  third  was  on 
the  bowsprit,  or  try-works,  to  steer  clear,  as 
much  as  possible,  of  large  cakes  of  ice,  and  the 
watch  on  deck  was  ready,  at  any  instant,  to  wear 


ICING  IN   BEIIRING  SEA.  23 

or  tack  sliip.  As  we  wormed  our  way  along 
there  was  a  constant  flow  of  commands:  "star- 
board!" "steady!"  "port!"  "steady!"  "let 
her  luff  a  little  !"  "steady  !"  as  we  passed  in 
and  out  among  the  cakes  of  ice.  The  days  grew 
longer  fast.  It  was  light  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  dark  at  nine  in  the  evening. 
When  the  weather  was  clear  the  sunsets  were 
glorious.  In  the  foreground  would  be  an  occa- 
sional shij)  to  giA^e  life  to  the  picture,  while  the 
ice  and  water  would  reflect  every  ray  of  color 
and  intensify  its  beauty.  A  sunset  at  sea  is 
tame  in  comparison,  lacking;  the  one  essential 
feature,  the  ice. 

"B-l-o-w,  "  "b-l-o-w,"  came  down  from  the 
crow's-nest  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty- 
flftli.  It  was  the  first  whale,  and  every  man 
was  electrified.  The  boats  were  made  ready  to 
"  lower  away,  "  but  the  whale  was  in  too  much 
haste  to  wait  to  be  caught,  and  disappeared  in 
the  ice.  We  on  deck  did  not  see  the  blow,  but 
watched  with  anxious  eyes  some  grampus's 
blowing  instead. 

Having  letters  for  Captain  Simmonds  of  the 
Sea  Breeze,  we  ran  up  the  American  flag  at  the 
mizzeii  -peak  as  a  signal  for  him  to   "  come 


M  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AICD   SIBERIA. 

aboard.  "  He  soon  came  along-side  and  invited 
us  to  "  come  aboard,"  Whalemen  call  this 
going  aboard  of  each  others  shij^s  "gamming." 
I  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  gam- 
ming, but  this  was  my  first  experience  of  it. 
When  we  got  aboard  we  found  the  captain's 
wife  and  four  cai3tains  from  other  ships.  The 
story  of  each  master  since  leaving  port  was  told, 
an  occasional  yarn  was  sandwiched  in,  and  the 
"gam  "  capped  by  an  excellent  supper  of  fresh 
pork,  egg  omelet,  fried  oysters,  beef  tongue, 
lobster  salad,  fried  and  baked  potatoes,  hot 
biscuit,  sugar  cookies,  cake,  and  preserved  j)ear. 

Two  days  afterward  Ave  pushed  into  the  ice 
toward  the  land.  One  lead  after  another  was 
X)assed  through  until  noon,  when  we  found 
ourselves  facing  a  solid  ])iic\>L  over  a  mile 
wide.  Tlie  good  sliij)  poked  its  blunt  stem 
into  it,  and  after  six  hours  of  steady  work,  we 
emerged  into  a  large  lead  on  tlie  other  side. 
Several  of  the  other  ships  were  already  there. 
The  next  day  we  lowered  the  boats  five  times 
and  struck  and  killed  one  whale,  but  he  was 
only  a  few  feet  from  the  j)ack,  so  we  lost  him. 

It  is  a  streak  of  good  luck  if  a  ship  gets  a 
wliale  south  of  Cape  Navarin,  and  as  the  way 


ICING  IN  BEHRING  SEA.  25 

was  apparently  open  to  get  above  the  Cape 
into  the  Gulf  or  Sea  of  Anadir,  we  hastened  on, 
and  May  3d  found  us  off  the  Cape.  There  we 
met  the  pack,  so  w«i  ran  back  through  con- 
siderable young  ice  into  clear  water  again.  In 
doing  this  we  had  a  fair  breeze,  while  at  the  same 
time  another  ship  coming  toward  us  from  the 
south  had  a  fair  breeze.  This  shows  how  local 
the  wind  may  be  in  these  regions. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  bark  Jacob  A.  How- 
land  came  up.  She  was  boiling.  When  Caj)- 
tain  Shockley,  in  answer  to  an  invitation,  came 
aboard  to  gam,  he  brought  several  pieces  of 
whale  meat.  Cuts  that  come  from  along-side 
the  backbone  or  the  after  part  of  the  whale  are 
very  good  eating.  We  had  three  chunks,  and 
as  they  hung  up  under  the  boat-house  they 
looked  more  like  beef  liver  well  smeared  with 
blood,  than  any  other  kind  of  meat.  The  usual 
method  of  cooking  this  meat  is  in  "  whale- 
meat  balls,"  although  stews  and  steaks  are 
also  had.  Steward  put  the  meat  through  a 
sausage  machine,  spiced  it  with  sage,  savory, 
and  pepper,  mixed  in  a  little  chopped  pork, 
then  made  it  up  into  balls  and  fried  it.  The 
balls  were  surprisingly,  toothsome,  and  I  did 


26  AECTIC  AXASKA  AND   SIBERIA. 

justice  to  them  worthy  an  old  whaleman.  The 
flavor  of  the  meat  is  peculiar  and  somewhat 
gamy,  perhaps  as  near  venison  as  anything  else. 

The  bight  where  we  were  has  the  reputation 
of  being  a  most  excellent  whaling-ground,  but 
it  is  an  exceptional  year  when  the  ships  get 
there  ahead  of  the  whales.  Now  that  we  got 
the  exceptional  year  we  found  that  it  was  also 
exceptional  with  the  whales,  for  not  a  si)out  or 
a  breach  could  be  seen.  To  remain  where  we 
were  was  to  run  the  risk  of  being  shut  in,  should 
an  east  wind  come  up  and  drive  the  ice  in- 
shore; but  to  return  whence  we  had  come  was 
to  run  away  from  where  the  whales  ought  to 
be,  and  to  run  greater  risks  of  being  caught  in 
a  floe.  These  were  the  alternatives,  for  the 
pack  was  on  one  side  of  us  and  the  land  on  the 
other.  The  presence  of  the  many  walruses  and 
hair-seals,  persuaded  the  captains  of  the  half- 
dozen  shii)s  now  there,  to  hold  on  for  a  few 
days,  as  these  animals  are  regarded  as  fore- 
runners of  the  whales.  Between  gamming  and 
searching  the  edge  of  the  pack  for  an  opening 
to  get  through  that  we  might  i)ush  uoi'Miwai'd, 
time  passed  rapidly. 

Most  of  tlie  ships  tluit  go  out  "between  sea- 


ICING   IN   BEIIRIXG   SEA.  27 

sons,"  that  is,  sail  from  San  Francisco  in 
November  or  December  and  si)end  the  winter 
sperai-whaling,  visit  the  Sandwich,  Marianna, 
and  other  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  for  sup- 
plies. These  supplies  include  live  animals  as 
well  as  vegetables  and  fruit.  Most  of  the 
ships  get  pigs  and  chickens.  On  board  the  Sea 
Breeze  was  a  happy  family  of  a  bullock,  a  goat, 
a  sow  with  a  litter  of  pigs,  and  a  few  chickens. 
Gamming  would  not  be  possessed  of  the  many 
charms  it  is,  were  it  not  for  this  fresh  meat  to 
vary  the  monotony  of  canned  goods  and  salt 
meat.  We  made  a  start  toward  a  collection  of 
animals  while  here.  We  received  a  present  of 
a  pig  from  Captain  Devoll,  of  the  Mars,  and  a 
few  days  later  several  little  pigs  from  her  pig- 
ship.  We  also  discovered  a  white  fox  cast 
away  on  a  cake  of  ice,  and  catching  him  alive, 
adopted  him  into  our  family,  hoping  he  would 
fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  our  yel- 
low dog.  A  third  animal  fell  into  our  posses- 
sion the  same  day.  It  was  a  seal,  whose  weight 
was  estimated  at  but  little  under  a  thousand 
pounds.  The  ship  sailed  up  to  within  a  hun- 
dred feet  of  him,  and  then  three  well-aimed 
bullets  did  the  rest. 


28  ARCTIC  ALASKA   AND  SIBERIA. 

The  fierce,  chilly,  northwest  gale  that  we 
encountered  when  first  we  met  the  ice,  had 
died  away.  It  was  followed  by  some  most 
delightful  weather,  more  delightful,  in  fact,  than 
that  which  we  had  experienced  in  the  Central 
Pacific.  That  was  weather  in  which  one  had 
to  exert  himself  to  accomplish  anything  ;  this 
was  bracing  and  strengthening,  making  it  a 
pleasure  to  undertake  any  work  or  exertion. 
The  thermometer  kept  just  above  the  freezing- 
point  during  the  day  and  a  little  below  at  night. 

Whaling  captains  have  a  reputation  for 
being  most  skilful  navigators.  Navigating  in 
the  ice  is  as  much  more  of  an  art  over  navigat- 
ing in  clear  water,  as  sailing  a  ship  is  over 
rowing  a  boat.  To  maneuver  a  ship  from  lead 
to  lead,  and  among  large  cakes  in  an  ice-floe, 
requires  consummate  skill,  and  it  is  a  lesson 
that  sailors  of  much  ability  and  exj)e]"ience 
have  to  study  long  and  hard  to  learn.  Many 
and  many  a  time  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  must 
inevitably  be  stove,  but  just  as  many  times  my 
confidence  in  the  skill  of  the  captain  has  been 
found  to  be  well  x>laced.  The  ship  would 
swing,  or  wear,  about,  often  not  more  than 
touching  the  dangerous  ice. 


ICING   IN   BEIIEING   SEA.  29 

In  a  recent  investigation  by  an  insurance 
comiDany  into  the  loss  of  an  Arctic  whaler,  the 
adjuster,  an  experienced  seaman,  called  an  old 
whaling-master  up  to  testify,  and  asked  him 
several  questions.  The  master  then  put  the 
following  question  to  the  adjuster:  "Suppose 
you  were  on  a  lee  shore  in  a  gale  where  it  was 
impossible  to  tack  ship,  where  there  was  not 
room  to  wear  ship,  and  you  could  not  anchor, 
what  would  you  do?"  "Expect  the  ship  to 
go  ashore,"  said  the  adjuster.  "I  wouldn't," 
said  the  old  whaleman,  "I  would  take  in  the 
after  sails,  haul  everything  hard  aback  and  box- 
haul  her,"  (that  is,  back  the  ship  out).  The 
insurance  was  paid  without  further  question. 

The  wind  was  doing  its  work  in  breaking  up 
the  ice-pack,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  7th, 
two  of  the  ships  were  working  past  Cape  Nav- 
arin  in  spite  of  the  snow  and  fog,  so  we  fol- 
lowed them.  Before  noon,  the  weather  cleared 
up,  then  the  wind  died  away.  Toward  night, 
however,  the  breeze  sprang  up  again,  and  dark- 
ness found  us  about  ten  miles  off  Cape  Thad- 
deus.  There  are  two  bays  between  these  two 
capes,  St.  Gabriel  and  Ushakoff .  In  the  former 
is  a  settlement  of  a  few  native  families,  not 


30  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

over  half  a  dozen,  if  that.  As  the  bay  was  full 
of  ice,  we  did  not  stop.  None  of  the  natives 
were  seen,  but  while  passing  Ushakoff  Bay,  we 
saw  three  native  huts,  and  noticed  that  a  big 
smoke  was  made,  and  a  flag  waved  to  attract 
our  attention.  Could  we  have  looked  ahead 
two  days  and  seen  what  was  to  hapjDen,  we 
would  have  stojDped  to  trade.  Instead,  how- 
ever, we  pushed  forward,  hoping  to  find  a  clear 
passage  across  the  Grulf .  The  following  night, 
we  and  four  other  ships  were  stuck  fast  in  the 
ice.  We  were  in  the  solid  grasp  of  the  pack 
that  had  swept  in  around  us,  and  must  wait 
patiently  until  it  should  open  and  let  us  out. 
On  the  first  day  of  our  imprisonment,  I 
determined  to  be  neighborly;  so  taking  one  of 
the  sailors  for  company,  and  for  assistance  in 
case  of  i)ossible  mishai?,  I  started  across  the 
ice  for  the  Jacob  A.  Howland.  She  was  only 
a  mile  off,  but  there  were  so  many  cakes  of 
rotten  young  ice,  and  so  many  holes  of  oj^en 
water  among  the  cakes  of  solid  ice,  that  it 
took  us  two  hours  to  get  there.  It  was  a  wonder 
that  we  got  there  at  all,  for  the  ice  was  too 
treacherous,  and  the  undertaking  too  risky. 
Many  of  the  large  cakes  were  from  six  to  six- 


ICING   IN   BEIIKING   SEA.  31 

teen  i'eet  thick,  while  the  young  ice  was  only- 
two  to  four  inches  thick,  and  too  rotten  to  bear 
much,  if  any,  weight. 

It  was  much  to  our  delight  that  the  ice 
oi3ened  sufficiently  on  the  fourth  day  to  let  us 
out.  A  strong  northwest  gale  broke  ux?  the 
young  ice  and  opened  occasional  leads,  so  that 
by  night  we  were  in  oi^en  water.  A  forestay- 
sail  was  all  the  canvas  we  had  out  until  noon 
of  the  next  day,  the  12th.  The  wind  had  died 
nearly  out,  and  with  it  the  heavy  swell  that 
had  been  on  since  the  gale  sprang  up.  So 
sudden  was  the  transformation  that  it  seemed 
like  going  ashore  in  the  midst  of  a  storm. 
Eight  sails  were  in  sight,  and  all  we  could  do 
was  to  drift  about.  Was  it  strange  that  sev- 
eral ships  gravitated  toward  each  other  ?  There 
had  already  been  gamming  enough  for  each 
master  to  relate  what  had  happened  since  leav- 
ing port.  JNTow  was  the  oiDportunity  to  tell 
what  each  wanted  to  do,  and  to  retell  former 
experience.  Three  days  afterward  I  went  on 
board  the  Eliza  to  spend  a  few  weeks  with 
Capt.  Edmund  Kelley. 

There  were  ten  of  us  ships  gathered  in  a  hole 
that  extended  nearly  as    far  south  as  Cape 


32  ARCTIC   ALASKA   A^"D   SIBERIA. 

Navarin.  At  first  it  was  large,  but  shifts  in 
the  ice  made  it  smaller.  The  pack  at  the  north 
disintegrated  day  by  day,  allowing  ns  to  ^^•ork 
northward  very  slowly,  but  the  ice  filled  in, 
about  and  behind  us,  and  on  the  eighth  day  we 
were  not  out  of  sight  of  Cape  Thaddeus.  On  the  ' 
next  day,  however  (May  19tli),  the  ice  opened 
so  that  several  of  the  ships  started  ahead. 
Between  a  fierce  northwest  gale  and  the  fields 
of  ice,  progress  was  slow,  but  perseverance 
carried  us  ahead  into  another  hole,  where  we 
were  jDrisoners,  and  but  little  better  off  than 
before. 

At  such  times  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  be 
patient  and  keep  good-natured  by  gamming. 
There  was  not  a  whale  to  be  caught,  nor  any  pos- 
sibility of  getting  anywhere  to  catch  one  until 
the  ice  opened.  The  captains  would  endeavor 
to  console  one  another  by  telling  of  hearing  a 
whale  "  sing."  I  at  first  took  this  for  a  sopli- 
omoric  joke,  slyly  intended  for  me  to  bite  at, 
so  I  kex)t  quiet.  But  one  day  there  was  a 
rehearsing  of  experiences,  and  I  found  that  the 
masters  really  believed  that  whales  do  sing. 
Captain  Kelley  was  the  first  to  discover  this 
singing,  but  he  was  laughed  at  for  it.     In  1882, 


S  1 


t.    ' 


ICING   IN   BEHRING   SEA.  83 

several  ships  lay  at  anchor  under  Indian  Point. 
As  usual,  the  masters  got  together,  and  in  the 
midst  of  their  conversation,  Captain  Kelley 
broke  in  "There's  abowhead!*'  Everybody 
laughed  about  "  Kelley' s  band,"  but  he  insisted 
that  whales  were  near  by,  and  he  was  going  to 
give  chase.  One  master  suggested  that  it  was 
the  copper  on  the  ship,  another  that  it  w^as 
seals,  another  that  it  was  the  ice,  and  so  on.  But 
when  Captain  Kelley  took  up  anchor  and  set 
sail,  every  ship  followed  him.  One  whale  w^as 
caught.  Soon  more  singing  was  heard.  The  result 
was  the  capture  of  several  whales.  After 
having  attention  thus  forcibly  called  to  the 
singing,  it  was  not  long  before  the  masters  w^ere 
on  their  guard  for  it.  As  singing  is  almost 
never  heard  in  the  Arctic,  it  is  inferred  that  it 
is  a  sort  of  a  call,  or  signal,  for  whales  when 
making  a  passage  through  Behring  Sea,  to 
notify  each  other  that  they  are  bound  north, 
and  i^erhaps  that  the  Straits  are  clear  of  ice. 
While  Capt.  AVm.  H.  Kelley  was  right-wlial- 
ing  in  the  Japan  Sea  in  1881,  he  jDut  his  ear  to 
the  line  and  heard  the  Avhale  that  he  had  struck 
give  a  deep,  heavy,  agonizing  groan,  like  that 
of  a  person  in  x^ain.     It  has  been  known  for  a 


34  AKCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBEKIA. 

long  time  that  liumpback-wliales,  blackfisli, 
devil-fish,  and  other  species  of  whales  sing, 
and  that  walruses  and  seals  bark  under  water, 
and  it  is  believed  tliat  all  animals  having 
lungs  and  living  in  the  water,  as  these  do, 
have  their  own  X3eculiar  cry,  or  as  whalemen 
express  it,  "sing."  Whenever  a  whale  is 
struck  by  a  harpoon,  it  is  always  noticed  from 
the  masthead  that  every  whale  in  sight  is  "  gal- 
lied,"  that  is,  frightened.  At  most  times  they 
disappear,  but  occasionally  they  simply  jump, 
then  settle  back  quietly  to  feeding,  or  whatever 
they  may  be  doing.  It  is  particularly  true  that 
siDerm-wdiales  take  fright  when  one  of  their  num- 
ber is  struck.  No  reason  has  ever  been  assigned 
for  this  sudden  signal  of  danger  except  this 
"singing"  theory.  It  is  believed  that  when  a 
whale  is  struck,  its  cry  of  pain  is  heard  by 
every  other  whale  within  sight  from  aloft. 
In  January,  1887,  one  of  tlie  Eliza's  boats 
struck  a  si)erm-wliale,  and  instantly  the  whole 
school,  which  was  three  miles  or  more  olf,  started 
for  their  wounded  comx)anion,  and  circling 
about  it  huddled  together  as  if  to  ask  "  what's 
the.  matter?"  AVith  bowhead-whales  the  cry 
is  something  like  the  hoo-oo-oo  of  the  hoot- 


ICING   IX   BEHKING   SEA.  35 

owl,  althoiigli  longer  drawn  out,  and  more  of  a 
humming  sound  than  a  hoot.  Beginning  on  F, 
the  tone  may  rise  to  G,  A,  B,  and  sometimes  to 
C,  before  slanting  back  to  F  again.  With  the 
humpbacked- whale,  the  tone  is  much  finer, 
often  sounding  like  the  E  string  of  a  violin. 

We  readied  the  ice-pack  before  we  had  gone 
a  third  of  the  distance  across  the  Gulf.  Then 
followed  another  period  of  waiting.  Between 
listening  for  whales,  shooting  at  seals'  heads, 
dodging  ice- cakes,  photographing,  and  having 
an  occasional  gam  to  "growl"'  from  weariness, 
time  passed,  but  it  passed  very  slowly,  I  de- 
voted myself  assiduously  to  developing  accu- 
mulated pictures,  but  even  that  could  not 
lift  the  cloud  of  uneasiness  that  hung  over  us. 
We  wanted  to  be  up  and  doing,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  there  was  positively  nothing  to  do  but 
patiently  wait.  Steamer  Orca,  the  most  pow- 
erful ship  in  the  fleet,  came  up  and  tried  in  vain 
to  penetrate  the  pack,  so  turned  back.  With 
steam  she  could  easily  go  back  and  forth  in 
spite  of  weather,  while  we  sailing  vessels  were 
dei^endent  upon  the  winds. 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  May,  a  sail 
was  sighted  at  the  south,  and  in  the  morning 


36  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AiSTD   SIBERIA. 

there  were  six  more.  We  recognized  them  as 
part  of  the  fleet  that  had  gone  eastward  in 
hopes  of  getting  north  along  the  Alaskan  coast. 
They  had  found  the  solid  ice-pack  as  far  south 
as  St.  Paul's  Island,  so  returned.  With  them 
came  news  from  ships  at  the  south,  the  two 
chief  items  being  that  twenty-one  whales  had 
been  caught  and  that  the  Stamboul  had  been 
stove;  not  so  seriously,  however,  but  that  she 
could  be  repaired. 

This  was  the  slowest  getting  anywhere  I  had 
ever  exjDerienced.  On  the  flrst  day  of  May  we 
were  one  hundred  miles  below  Cape  Navarin. 
A  week  later  we  were  off  the  Cape.  Then  we 
pressed  forward  and  went  perhaps  fifty  miles, 
but  only  to  be  beset  in  the  pack  and  remain 
three  days  without  moving  a  ship's  length, 
except  as  the  current  carried  us.  Then  a  north- 
westerly gale  carried  us  back  below  Cape  Tliad- 
deus.  Four  or  five  days  later  the  ice  opened 
sufficiently  to  allow  of  making  an  attempt  to 
work  northward,  and  in  two  weeks  we  had  only 
goiie  about  one  hundred  miles.  During  these 
two  weeks  we  had  sailed  north  and  drifted 
south,  sailed  south  and  drifted  north,  in  fact, 
gone  in  every  direction.     One  current  carried 


ICING   IN   BEHRING   SEA.  37 

US  to  within  sixty  miles  of  tlie  Anadir  River, 
while  another  carried  us  off  to  the  eastward. 
Finally  the  current  settled  down  to  a  general 
northerly  flow  and  carried  us  in  the  proper 
direction  at  the  rate  of  from  two  to  twelve 
miles  a  day.  Local  currents  occasionally  in- 
terfered. Thus  the  first  day  of  June  each  shij) 
lay  tied  up  to  a  big  cake  of  ice,  and  of  the 
vessels  nearest  us,  the  Hidalgo^  which  was  east- 
southeast  in  the  morning,  was  carried  to  south 
by  east  by  night.  The  Ahram  Barker  was 
carried  from  north  by  east  to  northeast  by 
north  ;  and  the  Northern  Lights  from  west  half 
north  to  southwest  by  west. 

To  be  bothered  like  this  is  an  every-day  ex- 
perience to  an  Arctic  whaleman,  and  it  is  a 
small  part  of  what  he  must  patiently  submit 
to.  A  contrary  current  may  hold  him  in  the 
pack  while  ships  about  him  make  sail,  and  head 
for  the  whaling-grounds.  Or  while  he  is  wear- 
ing and  tacking  about,  waiting  an  opportunity 
to  continue  his  course,  he  is  harrassed  by  the 
feeling  that  probably  other  ships  have  got 
through  the  ice  somewhere  else  and  found 
whales.  Possibly  he  may  be  within  easy  sailing 
of  a  passage  through  the  ice — as  it  was  afterward 


38  AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

learned  we  seventeen  ships  were — but  not  know 
it.  He  is  always  in  danger  of  having  his  ship 
stove,  and  must  be  prepared  at  any  moment, 
day  or  night,  to  fight  clear  of  ice,  or  flee  from 
a  threatened  pack  or  approaching  floe.  These 
conditions  come  nearer  the  x>roper  ones  for 
spoiling  a  good  temperament  than  any  human 
being  ought  to  be  tempted  with.  Even  the 
I)atient  Job  of  old  would  have  been  sorely  tried 
had  he  been  an  Arctic  whaleman.  To  hang 
week  after  week  on  the  verge  of  getting  some- 
where is  far  more  trying  to  the  patience  than 
one  could  imagine  who  has  not  experienced  it. 
On  the  second  day  of  June  the  weather  was 
thick  and  some  rain  fell,  but  at  intervals  it 
cleared  up  sufficiently  for  land  to  be  discerned. 
We  still  lay  tied  up  to  a  big  cake  of  ice,  in 
spite  of  a  longing  to'  get  nearer  the  shore, 
which  proved  to  be  Cape  Aggen  and  vicinity, 
but  the  weather  and  pack  were  too  thick.  The 
Hidalgo,  which  lay  a  mile  or  so  off,  was  found 
to  liave  two  planks  in  her  bow  stove  above  the 
water-line,  and  with  this  in  our  minds  we  for- 
got to  worry  about  hastening  on.  Early  the 
next  forenoon,  however,  we  set  sail,  in  spite  of 
the  fog,  and  worked  to  the  eastward  in  the  teeth 


ICING   IX   BEIIRING   SEA.  39 

of  a  strong  wind.  We  liopecl,  by  running  from 
siix)per-time  to  midniglit,  to  reach  heavy  ice 
several  miles  ahead.  Four  qf  us  ships  were  beat- 
ing along,  when  we  discovered  the  Francis  Pal- 
mer's colors  at  half  mast,  ensign  down  ;  we  had 
been  dodging  wicked-looking  cakes  of  ice  all 
day,  and  we  laiew  in  an  instant  that  the  ship 
was  stove,  so  we  and  two  others  went  to  her 
assistance.  A  boat' s  crew  and  the  ship-carpenter 
were  sent  aboard,  and  all  assistance  needed  was 
promjDtly  furnished.  The  captain  and  I  went 
aboard  a  few  minutes  later  and  found  that  the 
damage  was  not  serious,  though  there  was  a 
bad  break  in  the  cut- water,  three  feet  below  the 
water-line.  Everything  forward  was  moved  aft, 
and  the  ship  weighted  down  at  the  stern  with 
casks  of  water,  sufficiently  to  raise  the  stem  out  of 
water,  so  that  the  broken  place  could  be  reached 
and  thoroughly  repaired.  After  returning  on 
board  the  Eliza,  I  hastily  collected  my  traps 
and  moved  over  on  the  Hunter,  Captain  Ber- 
nard Cogan. 

The  next  morning  I  found  a  terrific  north- 
easterly gale  blowing,  causing  the  pack  to  sur- 
round us.  A  strong  current  was  carrying  us 
swiftly  along  with  the  wind.     For  thirty-six 


40  ARCTIC   ALASKA  AND   SIBERIA. 

hours  we  were  thumped  about  from  one  oake 
to  another.  The  wind  whistled  sharply  through 
the  rigging,  and  hail  occasionally  fell.  Every 
element  seemed  to  have  conspired  to  make  life 
miserable  on  deck.  Another  ship  was  driven 
helplessly  down  upon  us,  and  for  an  instant  it 
looked  as  though  we  would  both  be  wrecked, 
but  a  cake  of  ice  saved  us.  When  the  gale  let 
go,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  field  of  ice  fifty 
miles  south.  To  set  sail  and  get  back  again  did 
not  take  long,  but  we  experienced  some  good 
icing  in  doing  it.  Steam  was  got  up  in  the 
donkey-engine,  and  by  running  lines  to  large 
cakes  of  ice  in  our  path,  then  pulling  ourselves 
along  with  the  windlass,  we  soon  emerged  into 
the  clear  water  beyond.  Twenty-four  hours 
afterward  we  were  becalmed  off  Cape  Behring. 
An  experience  of  Captain  Cogan  in  1886  is 
tyiDical  of  what  exertion  a  whaleman  will  make 
to  i)rosecute  and  complete  his  voyage.  In 
going  through  the  Gulf  of  Anadir  he  broke  a 
piece  out  of  the  Hunter's  cut-water,  but  did  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  stop  and  repair  it.  When 
off  St.  Lawrence  Island,  he  was  caught  in  a 
whirlpool,  had  the  ludder-head  nearly  twisted 
off,  and  two  of  the  pintles  holding  the  rudder 


>    \: 


J 


ICING   IN   BEHRING   SEA.  41 

broken.  It  was  necessary  to  make  this  damage 
good  ;  then  he  started  on  again.  When  off  Icy 
Cape  he  struck  bottom  ice,  knocking  in  six 
timbers  six  feet  from  the  keel  forward  of  the 
fore-chains,  Tliis  caused  a  very  serious  leak, 
but  by  running  all  the  pumps,  and  bailing,  he 
got  at  the  break  and  stopped  two -thirds  of  the 
flow.  Turning  about,  he  went  into  Kotzebue 
Sound,  behind  Chamisso  Island.  The  wind  has 
a  rake  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  there,  yet  it  was 
the  best  retreat  at  hand.  Nearly  everything  in 
the  shij)  was  landed  on  shore.  The  spars  were 
then  unshipped  and  made  into  a  raft,  which 
was  firmly  anchored  at  both  ends  with  the  two 
bow  anchors,  and  then  weighted  down  and 
steadied  with  casks  of  water,  A  strong  south- 
easterly gale  came  up,  making  it  necessary  to 
undo  aH  this  work.  But  when  all  was  again 
quiet,  the  raft  was  rebuilt,  and  with^this  as  a 
wharf,  the  ship  was  hove  down  so  that  the 
keel  could  be  reached,  and  the  leak  thoroughly 
repaired.  Before  things  were  stowed  down 
again,  another  southeaster  came  on,  but  it  Avas 
too  late  to  do  any  damage.  U'p  to  the  time  of 
this  mishap  the  Hunterhad  not  caught  a  whale, 
but  less  than  tliree  months  afterward  she  went 
into  port  with  eleven  whales. 


42  ARCTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AMONG  THE   SIBERIAN   ESKIMO. 

Calms  at  sea  often  seem  to  come  at  the  most 
inopportune  times,  but  the  one  that  held  us  off 
Cape  Behring  on  June  8th,  seemed  opportune 
to  me,  for  it  brought  aboard  our  first  native 
visitors.  Of  late  years  ships  have  seldom  gone 
as  far  west  as  this,  but  we  did  not  wait  long  be- 
fore two  canoes,  with  a  dozen  or  more  natives 
in  each,  came  along-side. 

AVhalemen  have  got  to  calling  these  natives 
Masinkers,  irom.theirwovdma-sinl'-er,  for  good, 
and  now  they  call  themselves  that.  The  Rus- 
sian name  for  this  section  of  Siberia  is 
Tcliouktchis  ;  so,  strictly  sx)eaking,  I  suppose 
these  i^eople  are  Tchouktches,  or  perhaps  more 
properly,  Tchouktchisians,  but  their  distinctive 
name  will  probably  always  be  Masinkers. 

The  first  demand  of  nearly  every  individual 
native  was  for  a  chew  of  tobacco.  Then  each 
canoe  must  have  a  bucket  of  bread.    Being  thus 


AMONG  THE   SIBERIAN   ESKIMO.  43 

comforted,  the  men  were  ready  to  trade  the 
few  furs  of  deer  and  hair-seal  that  they  had. 
The  men  of  importance  went  into  the  cabin  to 
do  their  trading.  One  old  deerman  iDroduced 
a  i)iece  of  wood  carefully  wrapped  up,  on 
which  were  letters  crudely  carved.  After  some 
study  we  read  the  following  on  one  side,  ' '  1887. 
J.  B.  V.  Bk.  Nap.  Tobacco  give;"  and  on 
the  other  side,  "S.  W.  C.  Nav.  M  10  help 
come."  We  solved  the  mystery  in  this  wise. 
When  the  bark  Napoleon  was  wrecked  in  1885, 
off  CaiDe  Navarin,  only  fourteen  of  the  thirty- 
six  men  were  rescued.  Of  the  twenty-two  men 
lost,  some  got  ashore,  but.  they  were  reported 
to  be  dead.  Two  were  supposed  to  have  sur- 
vived, and  perhaps  more,  but  these  two  left  a 
message  sajdng  that  they  were  going  southwest, 
hojoing  to  reach  Oliutorsky.  Search  was  made 
last  year  for  tidings  of  them,  but  without  re- 
sult. We  interjpreted  the  message  as  follows  : 
That  J.  B.  V.  (whom  we  afterward  found  to  be 
James  B.  Vincent,  of  Edgartown,  Mass.,  a 
boat-steerer  of  the  Napoleon)  was  still  alive,  in 
1887,  and  that  he  wanted  tobacco  to  be  given 
to  the  bearer  of  the  message  ;  that  he  was  still 
southwest  of  Cape  Navarin,  ten    miles,    and 


44  ARCTIC  ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

wanted  help  to  come  and  rescue  him.  We 
gathered,  from  what  the  old  man  said,  that 
several  of  the  wrecked  sailors  reached  the  shore 
alive,  but  that  all  excei^t  Vincent  had  died. 
The  language  of  Cape  Behring  varies  so  mucli 
from  that  of  other  settlements  whalemen 
frequent,  that  conversation  was  very  difficult. 
We  decided  that  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to 
report  what  we  had  learned  to  the  United 
States  revenue  cutter  Bear. 

I  never  saw  better  natured  people  than  these 
natives.  They  laughed  and  joked  continually, 
and  such  a  motley -looking  crowd ;  some  dark, 
others  very  light.  All  were  dressed  in  deer- 
skin, some  with  one  suit,  the  rest  with  two. 
In  the  former  case  the  hair  side  of  the  suit  was 
worn  next  to  the  body,  giving  the  wearer  a 
ludicrous  appearance ;  in  the  other  case  the 
second  suit  is  worn  with  the  hair  side  out, 
making  the  wearer  look  a  third  larger,  and 
more  like  an  animal  than  a  human  being.  All 
these  second  suits  were  for  sale.  The  idea  of 
buying  a  gannent  off  a  man' s  back  seemed  in- 
human, but  to  these  people  trade  was  a  matter 
of  life  or  death,  while  the  garment  is .  easily 
replaced.     All  were  bareheaded.     Tlie  men  and 


AMONG   THE  SIBERIAN   ESKIMO.  45 

boys  had  the  crowns  of  their  heads  shaved,  or 
clipped,  close  like  the  Franciscan  friars,  and 
occasionally  a  head  was  shaved  around  the  out- 
side of  the  rim,  or  bang,  of  hair,  making  it  of 
uniform  width.  Back  of  the  ears  there  would 
often  be  a  long  lock  or  perhaps  a  bit  of  a  i^ig- 
tail  braid.  No  beards  were  worn  by  the  men  ; 
years  of  shaving  with  pincers  m  true  Indian 
style  having  left  their  faces  smooth,  though  an 
old  man  would  now  and  then  have  a  semblance 
of  stubble,  or  some  chicken-hearted  fellow 
would  find  the  growth  of  his  mustache  too 
much  for  his  courage.  The  women  wore  their 
hair  long  and  in  braids.  The  men  had  their 
Russian  pipes,  at  which  they  took  frequent 
pulls,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  opportunity 
to  beg  matches  and  tobacco.  A  ptinch  of  hair 
would  be  pulled  out  of  the  deer-skin  clothing 
and  stuffed  into  the  bottom  of  the  bowl,  leaving 
only  room  enough  for  a  large  pinch  of  tobacco. 
Six  or  eight  good  puffs  would  be  the  limit  to  a 
pil^eful.  These  the  smoker  would  draw  into  his 
lungs  without  allowing  a  particle  to  escajie,  then 
belch  forth  with  a  grunt  of  satisfaction,  re- 
minding one  of  a  locomotive  just  fired  up,  then 
giving  forth  its  big  puff  and  resultant  "  chew." 


46  AECTIC   ALASKA   AIND   SIBEEIA. 

Each  native  wore  a  belt,  fitting  rather  snug 
over  a  frock -like  garment,  which  was  loose,  es- 
pecially in  front  where  it  is  pulled  up  through 
the  belt,  forming  a  sort  of  pocket  or  receptacle 
inside.  If  one  were  given  bread  or  anything 
else,  he  would  drop  it  down  his  neck  into  this 
recei^tacle,  next  to  his  body,  or  perhaps  draw 
it  through  his  loose-flowing  sleeve.  To  get 
into  this  receptacle  the  arm  is  drawn  through 
the  sleeve,  and  whatever  is  wanted  is  either 
poked  up  through  the  neck  or  pushed  out 
through  the  sleeve.  A  little  pouch  to  hold 
tobacco  is  hung  about  the  neck.  Turquois- 
colored  beads  are  scattered  about  in  the  cloth- 
ing, in  the  hair  and  elsewhere,  and  strips  of 
fringe  and  fancy  needle-work  are  stuck  on 
almost  anywhere,  especially  inside  the  garaient. 
Having  been  through  the  hands  of  the  medicine 
men,  these  charms  keep  the  evil  si:)irits  off  and 
protect  the  wearer  from  harm.  When  selling  a 
garment  they  are  religiously  cut  off.  If  there 
happen  to  be  none,  then  a  strip  of  fur,  or  the 
ends  of  the  strings  are  cut  off,  perhaps  both. 
This  is  that  the  wearer  may  be  able  to  replace  the 
garment.  Families  sometimes  have  a  peculiar 
way  of,  or  place  for,  sewing  these  charms  on  ; 


AMONG   THE  SIBERIA]^   ESKIMO.  47 

or  perhaps  a  peculiar  pattern  of  needle-work. 
This  smacks  of  heraldry. 

All  the  ratires  were  plenty  familiar  enough, 
and  to  them  the  captain  was  the  man  all-import- 
ant. They  would  often  trade  with  him  for  less 
than  with  anyone  else.  Anyone  that  wanted  to 
speak  to  him  would  call  "Cogan,"  "Cogan," 
until  he  responded,  never  mind  what  he  was 
doing  or  how  far  apart  they  were.  Late  in  the 
afternoon,  an  hour  or  so  after  these  natives  had 
gone,  another  batch  from  Cape  Aggen  came 
aboard  to  trade  a  little,  but  to  beg  more. 

The  next  day  we  were  visited  by  six  canoe- 
loads  of  John  Rowland  Bay  natives.  They 
took  possession  of  as  much  oi  the  deck  as  they 
wanted  for  themselves  and  ttieir  trai:>s,  then 
kindly  allowed  the  crew  to  have  what  was  left. 
We  were  scraping  the  gum  off  the  butt  ends  of 
whalebone  at  the  time,  and  the  natives  had  a 
feast  off  the  shavings.  Many  would  stuff  them- 
selves full  and  carry  loads  of  the  delicacy  to  their 
canoes.  I  tasted  the  stuff,  but  only  once.  It  was 
as  I  should  imagine  a  decayed  raw  peanut  would 
taste.  As  the  day  was  very  damp  and  foggy, 
the  natives  had  their  water-proofs  on.  These 
are  made  of  strips  of  the  intestines  of  seals  or 


48  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

walruses  sewed  together.  "John,  the  Fisher- 
man," was  the  spokesman  of  the  party,  as  he 
had  been  whaling  and  could  murder  English 
well.  Many  of  the  natives,  he  said,  had  not 
caught  any  seals  for  many  weeks,  and  unless  a 
good  catch  of  some  sort  was  made  before  winter 
they  would  starve  to  death.  He  was  hoj^eful, 
however,  and  said:  "By  and  by,  one  moon, 
codfish,  catch  him  hook." 

There  is  a  general  imi)ression  abroad  that  un- 
principled traders  sell  liquor  to  the  natives  on 
both  shores  of  Behring  Sea,  and  that  the  natives 
so  devote  themselves  to  drinking  this  liquor 
.  that  they  allow  the  hunting  season  to  go  by, 
and  thus  bring  starvation  uj)on  themselves. 
Undoubtedly  there  have  been  individual  cases 
of  this  kind,  but  it  is  not  a  general  truth.  A 
little  reasoning  would  show  this.  Many  natives 
never  touch  liquor,  yet  they  and  their  families 
starve  with  the  rest.  Before  the  appearance 
of  the  whalemen,  the  natives  caught  whales, 
seals,  and  walruses  in  great  j)lenty  at  theif  very 
doors.  Now  hunters  must  go  a  long  distance, 
and  then  are  seldom  successful.  When  the 
whaling  fleet  was  two  or  three  times  the  size  of 
the  present  one,  the  increase  of  whales  did  not 


AMOXG   THE   8IBERIAX   ESKIMO.  49 

keep  pace  with  the  number  killed  off,  but  now 
the  majority  of  whalemen  think  that  the  annual 
catch  is  less  than  the  annual  increase.  Never- 
theless the  whales  grow  more  and  more  shy 
year  by  year,  to  the  disadvantage  of  both  natives 
and  whalemen. 

Cape  Tchaplin,  or  Chaplin,  is  one  of  the 
largest  settlements  on  the  coast.  It  has  thirty 
or  thirty-five  huts,  and  is  where  the  whalemen 
do  considerable  trading.  Their  name  for  the 
place  is  Indian  Point.  It  is  a  low,  long  sand- 
spit,  with  the  settlement  at  the  extremity.  Back 
of  it  toward  the  foot-hills  is  the  graveyard. 
Bodies  are  buried  in  shallow  graves  covered 
over  with  stones  and  earth,  and  in  most  cases 
deer  antlers  are  used  to  mark  the  si)ot. 

When  we  rounded  the  point  a  canoe  came 
along-side,  and  "  Shoo-Fly,"  one  of  the  best 
English-speaking  natives,  came  up  on  the  house, 
and  soon  gave  the  caj)tain  all  the  news  th€>.'e 
was,  and  more,  too.  Seven  whalers  were  already 
at  anchor.  The  customary  bucket  of  bread  was 
given  each  canoe  as  it  came  along-side,  and  each 
occupant  received  his  share  to  a  fraction.  It 
seemed  as  if  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the    settlement    came    aboard.      Considerable 

4 


50  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

trade  was  brouglit  along  in  the  shajpe  of  whale- 
bone, ivory,  and  fox-skins,  but  iDarticulaiiy 
boots  and  skin  shirts  and  coats.  But  for  this 
trade  it  is  very  doubtful  if  these  i^eople  could 
eke  out  an  existence.  During  the  winter  they 
make  a  large  number  of  Masinker  boots  of  hair- 
seal  skins,  which  are  tanned  or  sometimes 
chewed  to  crimi^  or  otherwise  manipulate  them. 
For  this  reason  the  teeth  of  the  women  (for  of 
course  they  do  this  chewing,  as  most  all  of  the 
hard  work)  are  often  worn  down  nearly  to  the 
gums.  Coats  are  made  of  the  young  seal  skins  or 
deer-skins  and  shirts  of  fawn-skins.  For  trade, 
tobacco  always  comes  first.  Whisky  would, 
but  whalers  seldom  carry  it.  Then  come  arms, 
ammunition,  flour,  calico — the  generic  name  for 
any  kind  of  cloth — axes,  knives,  traps,  flies, 
needles,  thimbles,  combs,  ship-bread,  kettles, 
etc. ,  etc.  The  natives  make  their  own  thread 
of  deer  sinew. 

The  Masinker  of  the  Masinkers  is  Gohara,  a 
man  of  not  over  forty  years,  tall  and  command- 
ing, and  by  far  the  best  specimen  mentally  and 
I)hysically  of  his  people.  He  is  a  great  trader 
and  prominent  whaleman,  having  four  boats. 
What  property  he  is  known  to  have  would  sell 


AMONG   THE   SIBERIAN    ESKIMO.  T)! 

for  at  least  850,000  in  San  Francisco.  Not  only 
does  he  trade  with  the  whalemen  and  others, 
but  he  keeps  a  large  supply  of  everything  on 
hand,  and  almost  controls  the  general  trade  of 
the  natives,  particularly  that  in  whalebone. 
He  gets  more  credit  as  a  trader,  however,  than 
he  deserves,  the  same  as  many  other  men  in 
this  world  get  credit  for  abilities  that  belong  to 
their  wives.  He  is  a  good  trader,  she  is  a  con- 
summate one,  and  no  bargain  is  made  without 
first  consulting  her.  Siwunka,  for  that  is  her 
name,  is  a  third  wife,  but  she  has  complete 
control  of  the  household  and  takes  her  husband 
entirely  to  herself,  making  the  other  two  wives 
slaves  and  workwomen,  pure  and  simple.  One 
of  her  sharj)  tricks  is  to  make  each  captain  a 
present  of  a  fine  specimen  of  needle-work,  such 
as  a  pair  of  gloves,  or  boots,  a  coat,  or  the  like, 
and  in  return  she  always  expects,  and  receives, 
twice  or  three  times  as  much  as  she  would  re- 
ceive had  the  transaction  been  a  trade.  I 
wanted  very  much  to  have  the  couple  pose,  that 
I  might  XDliotograph  them,  but  he  declined,  say- 
ing that  I  would  take  his  picture  and  carry  it 
off  to  another  land;  then  he  would  have  to  die 
and  go  with  it.     I  meekly  accepted  his  reason- 


52  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AI^TD   SIBERIA. 

ing,  which  left  no  room  for  argument,  seated 
myself  on  the  carpenter's  bench,  and  soon  had 
three  fine  pictures  of  him.  As  he  did  not 
understand  the  mystery  connected  with  the 
'  'click ' '  of  my  camera,  and  was  unconscious  of 
being  photographed,  I  hoi^e  he  will  not  be  called 
upon  to  follow  the  pictures. 

My  camera  was  taken  to  be  a  medicine-chest, 
and  such  ailments  as  the  majority  of  the  natives 
were  taken  with  were  never  thought  of  before. 
They  would  come  to  me  groaning,  and  say 
"Doghter,"  "Doghter."  When  I  told  them 
I  was  not  a  doctor,  they  intimated  that 
they  knew  better.  I  fairly  had  to  steal  what 
pictures  I  got,  for  old  and  young  were  suspicious 
of  the  black  box,  particularly  women  with 
babies.*  To  get  a  child  in  a  fair  light  was 
practically  impossible.  The  women  generally 
perched  on  top  of  a  cask  under  the  house,  or 
squatted  down  Turkish  fashion  in  some  dark 
corner. 

What  was  ludicrous  about  these  people  was 
the  manner  and  ease  with  which  they  would  go 
to  sleep.  I  saw  a  boy  walk  up  to  a  barrel  that 
stood  on  end,  pull  his  frock  up  over  his  head, 
then  drop  face  down  on  the  end,  and  in  a  min- 


AMONG   THE   SIBERIAN   ESKIMO.  53 

lite  or  two  he  was  snoring  away  as  contentedly 
— in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  standing  up — 
as  though  he  were  snugly  tucked  away  in  a 
feather  bed.  Some  sleepers  would  draw 
their  heads  entirely  into  their  deer- skin 
frocks ;  others  would  drop  anywhere  as  they 
were. 

The  babies  did  not  neglect  the  opportunity 
to  exercise  their  lungs  occasionally.  Almost 
as  soon  as  a  child  is  born,  it  is  sewed  into  a 
skin  garment,  with  legs  and  sleeves,  though 
the  ends  are  sewed  up  so  that  the  hands  and 
feet  shall  not  be  exposed.  A  trap-door  arrange- 
ment brings  up  the  rear  of  the  garment.  When 
old  enough  to  walk,  the  youthful  Masinker 
has  use  of  his  hands  and  feet,  and  he  struts 
about  in  a  big  pair  of  boots,  taldng  up  almost 
as  much  room  as  his  mother.  When  he  is 
heated  from  exercise  and  carrying  his  heavy 
furs,  the  neck-string  is  loosened,  and  the  gar- 
ment thrown  back,  leaving  his  shoulders  and 
one  arm  bare.  How  it  is  possible  for  a  child  to 
live  with  this  alternating  of  overclothing  and 
exi)osure,  I  can  not  conceive. 

Most  of  the  women  and  girls  wear  strings  of 
beads  in  their  ears,  not  in  the  lobe  as  earrings 


54  AECTIC    ALASKA    AND   SIBERIA. 

are  usually  worn,  but  from  half  an  inch  to  an 
inch  higher. 

The  garments  of  the  women  and  girls  are 
loose  trousers,  and  sometimes  a  waist  of  deer- 
skin, then  a  frock  of  deer- skin,  and  over  this 
frequently  a  calico  gown.  The  neck  to  the 
frock  is  cut  loose  for  convenience  in  nursing. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  ashore.  We  found 
plenty  of  scraggy-looking  curs  around  every 
hut.  Some  barked  at  us,  but  the  majority 
were  too  sleepy  to  be  troubled  about  anything. 
The  huts  are  made  for  the  most  part  of  walrus 
hides  stretched  over  a  wooden  frame-work, 
averaging  about  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  and 
being  ten  feet  or  thereabouts  high. 

The  door  and  doorway  are  of  wood,  and 
boards  from  wreckage  in  many  instances  form 
most  of  the  sides  of  the  huts  up  to  a  height  of 
five  or  six  feet.  Goliara'  s  hut  was  covered  with 
canvas  instead  of  walrus  hide.  It  has  become  a 
question  here  what  to  build  huts  of,  and  many 
natives  think  they  will  soon  be  forced  to  dig 
holes  in  the  ground  to  live  in,  walruses  have 
become  so  scarce.  It  is  now  necessary  to  go  to 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  fifty  miles  off,  to  get  wal- 
ruses.    Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  hides,  a  native 


AMOXG   THE  SIHKIUAX   ESKIMO.  i)^ 

woman,  with  a  common  knife,  will  split  a  hide 
as  skilfully  as  ever  leather  was  s]jlit.  I  went 
into  one  hut,  not  a  very  poor  nor  very  good  one. 
The  sides  were  part  board  and  part  walrus- 
hide.  Overhead  there  must  have  been  an  aver- 
age of  two  or  three  holes  to  the  square  foot.  I 
doubt  very  much  if  all  the  snow  could  be  kept 
out  ill  winter.  Opposite  the  entrance,  and 
occupying  a  quarter  of  the  space  inside  the 
hut,  was  an  inner  apartment  formed  by  deer- 
skin hangings.  It  is  a  complete  hut  in  itself. 
It  is  here  that  the  occupants  all  sleep,  and  if  it 
smells  half  as  bad  again  as  does  the  outer  room, 
it  must  be  very  warm,  for  I  doubt  if  Boreas 
could  induce  his  forces  to  associate  with  such 
company.  Nearly  every  hut  has  a  frame- 
work lean-to  back  of  it,  on  which  walrus 
hides  are  stretched,  and  canoes,  sleds,  etc.,  are 
stored. 

Many  canoes  are  also  strung  upon  lines 
between  double  rows  of  whale's  jawbones,  which 
stand  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high  when  iirmly 
planted  in  the  ground.  We  also  found  many 
ruins  of  winter  habitations  underground  in 
which  the  large  bones  of  the  whale  were  used 
for  the  frame-work.     Some  of  these  ruins  are 


56  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

used  as  caches  in  which  to  keep  the  winter's 
supply  of  food. 

In  front  of  every  hut  were  children  and  old 
women,  who  begged  tobacco.  When  I  gave 
them  to  understand  that  I  did  not  use  the 
weed,  they  gave  me  to  understand  that  I  was 
wandering  very  far  from  the  truth.  As  every 
Masinker  uses  it,  even  the  suckling  babe  chew- 
ing a  piece  between  meals,  one  who  does  not 
use  it  is  beyond  their  comprehension. 

As  the  whalemen  visit  Indian  Point  every 
year,  and  occasionally  ship  a  few  men  as  sailors 
for  the  season,  there  have  come  to  be  several 
expert  whalemen  in  the  settlement.  As  a  con- 
sequence, the  improved  methods  of  the  ships 
have  been  adopted  quite  generally,  there  being 
nearly  a  dozen  regular  whale-boats  bought 
from  the  ships,  in  service,  in  addition  to  all 
their  canoes.  The  method  of  the  natives  in 
whaling  is  ingenious.  Whole  seal-skins  are 
tilled  with  air,  making  large  air-bags  called 
"pokes."  These  are  fastened  on  seal-skin  lines 
six  or  'eight  feet  long,  one  or  two  being  at- 
tached to  each  harpoon.  Each  canoe  carries  four 
or  live  of  these  pokes,  and  another  with  a  line 
one  hundred  feet  or  more  long,  which  shows  the 


.\-iMxM;  -IM<'O50. 


AMOXG  THE   SIBERIAN   ESKIMO.  67 

course  of  the  whale  should  it  attempt  to  escape. 
Three  canoes  usually  go  whaling  in  company, 
and  as  many  of  these  pokes  as  possible  are 
fastened  into  the  whale,  fifteen  being  sufficient 
to  float  it.  An  ivory  or  steel  ]pointed  lance  is 
used  to  kill  the  whale.  An  important  feature 
of  this  system  is  the  yelling.  It  may  not  kill 
the  whale  outright,  but  it  frequently  gallies 
it  so  that  it  becomes  an  easy  victim,  A  line  is 
run  ashore  from  the  whale  when  it  is  killed, 
and  everybody  heliDS  to  haul  the  carcass  up 
on  the  beaph.  Then  follows  a  veritable  picnic, 
a  time  devoted  to  shouting  and  eating.  Every 
person  who  took  part  in  the  whaling  gets  a 
share  or  "lay."  Tl,iere  is  an  old  story  among 
whalemen  that  the  St.  Lawrence  Island  natives 
pounded  whale-blubber  to  extract  all  the  oil 
and  fat,  and  left  nothing  but  the  fiber  and 
sinew,  which  made  a  good  substitute  for  skins, 
and  was  used  for  clothing.  While  some  of  the 
Indian  Point  natives  follow  the  methods  of  the 
whalemen,  a  modification  of  both  methods  is 
mostly  used.  In  other  settlements  the  poke 
method  is  the  only  one  used. 

Captain  Cogan  shipped  three  men  here  for 
the  season  ;  ''  Shoo-fly,"  or,  as  he  called  himself 


58  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD   SIBERIA. 

on  state  occasions,  Mr,  Shoo-fly  (wlio,  by  the 
way,  must  have  been  named  by  some  one  who 
knew  him  well,  as  I  got  to,  or  who  accidentally 
had  a  keen  thought),  "Jim,"  and  "Lew." 
They  were  very  proud  of  these  sailor-given 
names. 

A  native  not  onlj  wants  to  see  everything, 
but  he  wants  to  do  what  the  Avliite  men  do,  and 
have  what  the  white  men  have.  One  ambi- 
tious fellow  wanted  a  captain  to  bring  him  an 
upholstered  sofa  for  trade.  Many  times  I  was 
asked  to  "see"  what  was  inside  my  camera. 
One  of  the  first  requisites  made  of  me  was  the 
loan  of  my  handkerchief  to  a  man  sorely  in 
need  of  one  for  immediate  use.  All  the  boys 
and  girls  were  constitutionally  hungry,  and 
asking  everybody  for  something  to  eat. 

The  odor  about  everything  Masinker  is  far 
from  pleasant  and  agreeable.  If  two  or  three  of 
them  remain  in  the  cabin  very  long,  the  average 
white  man  wants  to  get  out.  One  cause  for 
this  is  a  lack  of  the  virtue  of  personal  cleanli- 
ness, principally  because  they  have  no  soap, 
and  a  most  disgusting  substitute.  One  of  the 
hiippiest  boys  we  had  on  board  was  one  who 
had  his  hands  washed  with   soap   and   water. 


AMONG   THE   SIBERIAN    ESKIMO.  59 

Of  the  excrements  from  the  body,  the  Ma- 
sinkers  save  one,  not  only  to  tan  skins  with, 
but  to  wash  dishes,  scrub  house,  and  even  wash 
their  faces  and  hands.  If  cleanliness  results,  it 
is  not  satisfactory  to  the  average  nose,  whether 
or  not  it  may  be  to  the  eyes. 

Leather  is  well  tanned  in  this  way  by  soaking 
for  twenty-four  hours  or  so.  A  long  and 
thorough  airing  is  necessary  in  order  to  make 
skin  clothing  bearable  for  most  white  men  to 
wear,  and  the  offensive  smell  is  never  entirel}^ 
removed.  The  wonder  is  that  these  natives  are 
not  more  disgusting  and  offensive  than  thej^ 
are. 

I  learned  of  an  interesting  superstition  Avhile 
at  Indian  Point  in  regard  to  the  si^ecies  of 
whale  called  "kiUers."  Tliese  animals  are 
only  about  twenty  feet  long,  yet  they  will  kill 
a  large  whale,  and  as  the  natives  sometimes 
find  a  carcass  thus  killed,  they  most  naturally 
venerate  the  killer.  To  destroy  one  is  to  cause 
the  death  of  many  people  as  a  punishment.  I 
was  told  of  an  instance  when  a  great  many  St. 
Lawrence  Island  natives  died  because  one  of 
their  number  caused  the  death  of  a  killer.  The 
natives    believe  that    the  killers  live  in  the 


60  ARCTIC   ALASKA   A:ND   SIBERIA. 

mountains  in  the  winter,  and  that  the  various 
warm  springs  there  are  made  for  them  to  do 
their  cooking  in.  Whether  the  killers  are  sup- 
posed to  go  overland,  or  through  subterranean 
passages,  or  only  in  sj)irit  to  the  springs,  I 
could  not  learn.  The  St.  Lawrence  Bay  natives 
believe  that  the  killers  have  a  house  back  in 
the  mountains  where  they  live  winters.  To 
keep  in  favor  vdth  the  killers,  the  natives  make 
knives  of  whalebone  or  ivory,  and  throw  them 
into  the  water  to  aid  the  killers  in  killing  the 
whales.  In  telling  of  this,  my  informant  said  : 
"We  throw  him  knife,  he  wag  him  tail,  and 
look  blue,"  indicating  that  the  killer  is  very 
glad  to  be  thus  noticed.  In  times  of  want,  the 
medicine  men  go  through  a  prolonged  ceremony 
calling  upon  the  killers  to  kill  a  whale  near 
by,  and  thus  relieve  the  distress. 

We  spent  a  day  or  two  here,  then  hurried  on 
to  St.  Lawrence  Bay.  These  natives  have  less 
opportunities  than  do  the  Indian  Point  natives 
to  catch  whales,  and  it  is  probably  on  this  ac- 
count that  the  women  have  become  so  skilful 
at  needle-work.  Our  stay  here  was  only  a  few 
hours,  and  we  hurried  along,  and  on  the  night 
of    the  14th  ran    into  the  bight    under  East 


AMONG   THE   SIBERIAN   ESKIMO,  61 

Cape,  and  anchored.  Six  of  the  steam  whalers 
were  already  there.  Of  course,  several  canoe- 
loads  of  natives  came  aboard  for  bread  and  to 
beg,  or  trade.  They  had  considerable  walrus 
ivor}''  and  some  deer-skin  clothing. 

"Wliile  ashore  here  I  was  impressed  with  the 
strangeness  of  my  situation.  I  was  in  bleak, 
dreary,  forbidding  Siberia,  at  the  very  extreme 
of  the  vast  domain  of  the  Czar,  wallowing  about 
in  the  snow  and  among  a  strange  people  who 
hardly  seemed  human.  Between  me  and  home 
was  one  of  the  best  ships  in  the  fleet,  yet 
as  frail  as  an  egg-shell  in  the  clutches  of  an 
ice-floe,  which  might  appear  at  any  moment. 
I  wondered  if,  perhaps,  there  might  not  be  Ni- 
hilists skulking  round,  or  a  Russian  officer  on 
the  lookout  for  one  behind  some  hillock.  Per- 
haps a  sudden  blow  might  compel  the  ship  to 
seek  safety  in  flight.  How  would  my  companion 
and  I  fare  then  \  Off  to  the  northeast  was  a 
straggling  bit  of  the  greatest  enij^ire  on  earth, 
the  "  Big  Diomede."  Beyond  was  the  "Little 
Diomede,"  hardly  more  than  a  gunshot  from 
the  other,  yet  under  the  shadow  of  the  stars 
and  stripes  ;  while  in  the  distance,  distinctly  to 
be  seen,   was  Alaska,   another  barren  region. 


62  vAKCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

but  of  a  more  hospitable  blueness  than  the 
Asiatic  shore  had  ever  been. 

We  lay  here  four  or  five  days,  hoping  for 
whaling,  but  were  disappointed.  Two  or  three 
whales  were  caught,  but  in  a  contest  with  eight 
or  ten  more  ships,  and  most  of  them  steamers, 
prospects  for  success  were  slight.  While  hesi- 
tating what  should  be  the  next  move,  a  strong 
gale  forced  us  to  put  out  to  sea.  We  beat  about 
in  this  gale  for  two  days,  then,  as  the  weather 
cleared  up,  made  a  few  hours'  visit  olf  the  Big 
Diomede,  Ratmanoff  Island,  as  the  chart 
calls  it. 

June  23d  we  were  thirty  miles  below  Port 
Clarence  on  the  Alaskan  shore. 


THE  SIIOKES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND.  63 


CHAPTER  in. 

THE   SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND. 

Tlie  beach  off  which  we  hiy  was  strewn  with 
driftwood,  and,  as  fuel  was  getting  low,  we 
dropped  anchor,  and  took  aboard  several  boat- 
loads. Then  we  made  sail  and  were  soon  in  Port 
Clarence,  the  mid-summer  rendezvous,  wiiere 
we  found  half  a  dozen  vessels  already  at  anchor. 
Natives  were  aboard  by  the  time  the  anchor 
was  down.  One  glance  showed  that  they  were 
a  great  improvement  over  the  Siberian  natives. 
They  were  more  intelligent  ax^pearing,  dressed 
in  better  taste,  not  such  pestiferous  beggars, 
and  cleaner.  I  asked  to  photograph  Kooblu 
and  his  family.  He  is  well  known  among 
whalemen  as  an  interj^reter,  and  his  wife  is  ex- 
cellent at  sewdng.  But  they  refused,  on  the 
gTound  that  they  wanted  to  go  ashore  and  take 
a  bath  first.  The  woman  said  she  had  been 
doing  house-work,  aud  her  hands  w^ere  all 
' '  smoke. ' '  Tlie  next  day  they  came  off  dressed 
in  their  best,  and  as  clean  as  soap  and  w^ater 


64  AHCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

conld  make  them.  One  fellow  asked  for  a 
match  to  light  his  pipe,  and  Receipted  it  with  a 
very  polite  "thank  you."  In  fact,  a  minority 
neglected  this  little  conrtes}^  Cloth  is  very 
generally  used  here  for  clothing,  some  natives 
having  enongh  for  only  one  garment,  others 
enough  for  a  full  suit.  It  is  in  demand,  as  well 
as  towels  and  soap.  One  woman  had  a  regular 
dress  and  a  pair  of  corsets.  She  could  not 
understand  the  use  f oj*  the  latter,  and  even  after 
being  shown  how  to  wear  them,  she  threw  them 
aside,  exclaiming  "j9eec/iwfc,"  "no  good." 
But  of  the  former  she  was  very  proud,  though 
hardly  graceful  in  her  way  of  wearing  it. 
When  sitting  down  she  would  take  pains  to 
save  her  skirt  at  the  expense  of  her  deer-skin 
trousers.  When  sewing,  the  skirt  would  be 
rolled  up  about  her  hips,  out  of  the  way.  All 
Eskimo  women,  when  sewing,  as  far  as  I  ob- 
served, hold  their  work  between  their  knees, 
or  by  one  foot  resting  on  it  just  above  the  knee 
of  the  other  leg. 

These  Nakooruks  differ  from  the  Masinkers 
not  only  in  appearance,  but  in  customs  and 
language.  In  winter  they  live  in  an  under- 
ground hut  called  an  "igaloo,"  and  in  summer  in 


THE   SHORES   OF   NAKOOKUKLAND.  65 

a  tent  made  of  common  cotton  cloth,  or,  in 
exceptional  cases,  of  sldns,  called  a  "tooi)ick." 
There  is  no  regulation  forai  of  these,  but  the 
most  are  oval,  like  the  crown  of  a  hat  or  an 
Indian  "wickiup."  The  frame- work  is  of 
willow  twigs,  bent  over  and  stuck  in  the  ground, 
all  joints  or  places  where  they  overlie  being 
lashed  with  strips  of  seal-skin.  When  regular 
tent-shape,  there  is  the  usual  frame-work.  We 
found  many  settlements  about  these  shores, 
X^artially  because  of  the  presence  of  the  ships, 
but  more  particularly  on  account  of  the  fishing. 
Herring,  tomcod,  salmon  trout,  and  "  leather 
jackets,"  are  very  plenty,  and  soon  after 
the  shijDs  dei^art  the  salmon  run  sets  in.  The 
seines  used  are  made  of  strips  of  seal-skin  with 
meshes  of  an  inch  or  so.  The  knotting  is  as 
regular  as  though  done  by  machinery. 

Just  off  where  we  anchored  was  a  settlement 
of  about  twent}'  toopicks,  and  I  went  from  end 
to  end  of  it  without  being  once  asked  for  to- 
bacco or  anything  else.  The  dogs  did  a  fair 
share  of  howling,  but  the  children  behaved  well 
and  were  respectful.  They  were  not  as  dirty 
and  disgusting  as  the  Masinker  children. 
Many  of  the  men  wore  an  outside  shirt,  a  sort 

6 


66  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AND   SIBERIA. 

of  jumper,  that  was  once  white,  and  either 
seal-skin,  or  cloth,  trousers,  rather  tight  fitting. 
A  few  of  them  shaved  their  heads  on  the  crown, 
but  this  is  not  a  general  practice.  Those  that 
did  not  have  a  cloth  shirt,  wore  one  made  of 
squirrel -skin.  The  garment  of  the  women  is 
of  deer-skin,  and  it  extends  nearly  to  the  knees. 
It  is  cut  up  at  the  sides  nearly  to  the  hips. 
Their  trousers  are  of  deer-skin,  but  tight  fitting, 
instead  of  the  baggy  Masinker  trousers,  and 
with  boots,  or  covering  for  the  feet,  a  part  of 
the  garment.  Instead  of  suspending  their 
trousers,  all  Eskimo  fasten  them  about  their 
hips  with  a  seal-skin  cord;  not,  however,  just 
above  the  hip- joint,  as  one  would  suppose,  but 
two  or  three  inches  below.  This  results  in  a 
deep  crease  or  groove  in  the  flesh. 

Most  of  the  men  are  beardless,  but  mustaches 
are  not  infrequent,  and  a  considerable  apology 
for  a  full  beard  is  occasional!}^  met  with.  The 
tobacco  habit  here  is  as  inveterate  as  on  the  Si- 
berian shore,  but  the  j)ipes  are  less  elaborate, 
though  of  the  same  pattern.  Perhaps  the  one 
thing  that  gives  these  natives  an  improved 
appearance  over  the  Masinkers  is  the  custom  of 
carrying  a  bag  over  the  shoulder  as  a  catch- 


THIE  SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND.  67 

all,  instead  of  bulging  out  the  blouse  over  the 
pit  of  the  stomach.  The  turquois  bead  holds  its 
position  in  the  veneration  of  these  people,  but 
not  much  external  show  is  made  of  it.  Although 
such  a  comparatively  short  distance  from  the 
run  of  whales,  no  attempt  is  made  to  catch  anj. 
In  fact,  they  do  not  know  how  to.  This  limits 
trade  here  to  fish  and  furs.  The  food  is  almost 
entirely  of  fish  and  seal  meat,  wirli  occasionally 
walrus  meat,  and  the  whale  meat  brought  by 
the  ships.  Nearly  every  man  has  a  "  kyack" 
to  go  about  in.  This  is  a  most  useful  convey- 
ance, but  a  treacherous  one.  It  is  made  by 
stretching  seal-skin  over  a  wooden  frame-work, 
something  after  the  pattern  of  our  canoes.  It 
is  barely  large  enough  to  hold  one  man.  A 
single  paddle  is  used.  With  dexterous  hand- 
ling great  speed  can  be  obtained.  Kyacks  are 
hot  used  at  all  on  the  Siberian  shore,  but  are 
in  great  use  all  along  the  Alaskan  coast. 

Babies  here  have  a  harder  lot  than  any  babies 
ought  to  have,  though  no  more  so,  perhaps, 
than  among  all  Eskimo.  I  saw  some  that  wore 
only  the  clothes  they  were  born  in;  others  had 
a  little  shirt  reaching  nearly  to  the  hips,  and 
now  and  then  one  would  be  the  fortunate  pos- 


68  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD    SIBERIA. 

sessor  of  a  liood.  and  possibly  a  pair  of  boots.  The 
cliildren  would  usually  be  tucked  away  in  the 
mother  s  garment,  with  their  little  heads  either 
peeping  up  over  lier  shoulder,  and  their  large 
black,  sparkling  eyes  wide  open  with  wonder- 
ment, or  they  would  curl  up  with  only  a  bit  of 
their  faces  visible,  and  sleep  contentedly.  They 
are  held  in  position  by  a  belt  around  the 
mother's  body  which  lies  across  lier breasts,  and 
is  tied  just  above  the  small  of  the  back.  To 
nurse  the  child,  it  is  drawn  out  of  its  retreat 
and  pushed  ui^  inside  the  garment  from  below; 
or,  if  the  weather  is  chilly,  the  belt  may  be 
removed  and  the  child  moved  about  to  the 
proper  position  under  the  clothing  without 
exposing  it  to  the  air.  Owing  to  the  jjeculiar 
methods  of  nursing,  on  both  the  west  and  east 
shores,  the  breasts  of  the  women  are  abnormally 
long. 

Most  of  the  women  tattoo  themselves.  On 
the  Siberian  shore  the  women  often  have  lines 
tattooed  across  the  forehead,  nose,  and  chin; 
also  two  or  three  on  the  cheeks,  besides 
bracelets  and  fancy  patterns  the  whole  length 
of  the  arms.  On  this  shore  the  women  limit 
the  tattooing  to  one  broad  line,  or  possibly  two 


THE  SHORES   OF   Ts^AKOORUKLAND.  69 

narrow  ones  (but  more  commonly  to  a  com- 
bination of  these,  the  broad  one  in  the  centre), 
from  the  lower  lip  down  the  face  of  the  chin. 
Many  girls  are  not  tattooed  now,  the  parents 
desiring  to  have  them  "  alle  same  San  F'lisco," 
as  Kooblu  told  me.  Several  men  have  been 
taken  down  to  San  Francisco  by  the  ships  and 
brought  back  the  next  season,  thus  practically 
demonstrating  the  good  intentions  of  the  white 
men  in  coming  among  them.  This  has  smoothed 
off  many  rough  points  in  the  untamed  Eskimo 
nature,  and  resulted  in  their  coming  gradually 
to  have  more  regard  for  personal  cleanliness 
and  comfort.  A  few  of  them  make  daily  use 
of  soap  and  water,  and  many  of  them  take  a 
wash  whenever  opportunity  offers. 

The  barbarous  custom  among  the  men  of 
wearing  labrets  or  ornaments  in  the  lip  is 
slowly  dying  out.  I  did  not  notice  any  victims 
of  this  mania  on  the  west  shore,  but  a  majority 
of  the  men  on  this  shore  wear  a  stone  or  glass 
button-like  ornament  just  below  one  corner  of 
the  mouth,  if  not  at  both  corners.  Some  men 
have  thrown  aside  this  disfigurement,  which 
is  exceedingly  hideous.  Only  a  minority  of  the 
young    men    indulge  in  it.     Some  have  once 


70  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AXD   SIBERIA. 

worn  them  but  discarded  them,  leaving  bad 
scars  where  the  holes  have  been  allowed  to 
grow  over,  w^hile  others  never  had  their  lips 
pierced.  The  farther  north  we  went  the  more 
prevalent  the  custom  was.  One  old  man  wore 
a  piece  of  ivory  four  inches  long  at  one  corner 
of  his  mouth,  giving  him  the  appearance  of 
having  a  tusk  in  his  lower  jaw  like  that  of  a 
wild  boar,  A  pastime  among  the  wearers  of 
these  ornaments  is  to  take  them  out  and  replace 
them,  and  occasionally  run  their  tongues  out 
through  the  hole. 

Nearly  everything  portable  is  carried  in  seal- 
skin bags,  made  of  whole  skins.  The  noses 
are  tied  up,  and  when  laced  jDroperly  at  the 
opening,  which  is  a  slit  between  the  two 
flippers,  they  are  practically  water-tight. 
These  bags  are  slung  over  the  shoulder  by  a 
string. 

Captain  Cogan  made  an  excursion  inland 
while  we  lay  here,  taking  with  him  the  three 
Masinkers  from  Indian  Point,  and  three  more 
frightened  men  than  they,  never  lived,  before  the 
journey  was  ended.  It  seemed  to  them  that  the 
trip  was  for  the  one  purpose  of  tormenting  and 
killing  them,  yet  they  begged  permission  to  go. 


THE   SMOKES   OF    N AKOORUKLAND.  71 

There  were  no  suspicions  of  the  white  men,  but 
every  Nakooruk  was  watched  with  a  lieen  eye. 
F'rom  one  or  two  stray  remarks,  afterward 
dropped,  we  surmised  that  there  may  have 
been  a  contest  at  some  remote  time  between 
Nakooruks  and  Masinkers,  in  which  the  former 
came  off  victorious.  But,  however  this  may 
be,  these  three  men  thought  they  certainly  were 
doomed.  Thej''  would  have  returned  alone  but 
for  a  great  terror,  the  Nakooruk  devil.  One  of 
the  party  was  taken  sick,  and  this  means  to  an 
Eskimo  tlie  presence  of  evil  spirits.  Lew  said 
lie  was  afraid  to  return  alone  because  "me 
m<^et  Nakooruk  devil,  me  no  save  him,  he  no 
save  me."  That  is,  the  devil  would  talk  a 
strange  hmguage,  so  he  could  not  understand  the 
reasons  Lew  would  give  for  being  away  from 
his  own  people  and  among  these.  Afterward, 
in  telling  about  his  devil,  Lew  said:  "No 
devil,  Indian  man  no  die."  It  was  imjDossible 
to  learn  more  about  this  devil.  Masinkers  are 
more  superstitious  than  Nakooruks,  and  some 
of  them  live  in  great  terror,  fearing  the  devil 
or  some  other  unseen  enemy.  Many  of  them 
sleep  with  their  rifle  at  hand  for  ready  use. 
When  Captain  Cogan  went  ashore  at  East  Cape, 


72  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD   SIBERIA. 

he  suddenly  awakened  a  sleeping  native.  The 
fnllow  jiimx)ed,  cocked  his  rilie,  and  covered 
the  captain  with  it.  But  before  he  shot  he 
came  to  his  senses,  comprehended  the  situation, 
and  dropped  his  weapon.  The  year  the  cai^tain 
lived  among  the  Masinkers  he  found  this  terror 
of  some  unseen  enemy  very  prevalent. 

The  Arctic  seems  to  be  a  healthy  place  for 
niosquitoes,  for  not  only  did  we  find  them  in 
great  force,  but  of  unnecessarily  large  size  and 
of  consummate  fighting  ability.  Their  bite  is 
poisonous  to  animals  as  well  as  to  man.  The  na- 
tives have  to  p>rotect  themselves  from  them 
while  living  in  the  low  lands,  and  they  dig  holes 
in  the  ground  for  their  dogs  to  retreat  to. 
Deer  are  sometimes  driven  to  the  extremities 
of  sand  sp)its  to  escape  these  pests,  and  the 
natives  take  advantage  of  such  situations  to  se- 
cure a  large  supply  of  venison.  Bears  are 
claimed  to  become  so  worried  by  them  as  to 
wade  into  the  water  in  a  morass,  or  swamp, 
and  be  drowned  in  their  efforts  to  seek  relief. 
I  was  on  shore  frequently,  and  my  experiences 
were  such  that  these  statements  do  not  seem 
overdrawn  to  me. 

Wherever  I  went  ashore  the  flowers  seemed 


TOWING  ASIinUK  THK  F.^frTT  CASKS.— Page 74. 


THE  SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAIJfD.  73 

to  be  different  from  what  I  found  elsewhere, 
and  in  such  abundance  and  variety  as  I  had 
never  seen,  not  even  in  New  England  or  Central 
New  York.  The  colors  were  principally  white, 
but  there  were  both  blue  and  yellow  in  many 
shades,  besides  other  colors  and  combinations 
of  color.  The  clear,  deep,  sky  blue  blossom 
of  one  species  of  moss  was  more  exquisite  than 
arbutus.  Most  of  the  flowers  were  odorless, 
but  four  -or  five  kinds  were  noticeably  sweet- 
scented.  Oh  the  shores  around  us  I  found 
twentj^'-five  different  varieties  of  blossoms,  most 
of  them  new  to  me,  though  there  were  the  hypat- 
ica,  forget-me-not,  anemone  and  phlox.  Such 
a  garden  si)ot  in  these  Arctic  regions  seemed 
an  inconsistency. 

Nearly  every  canoe  that  came  along-side  had 
either  fish  or  furs  to  trade,  those  from  the  vi- 
cinity having  the  former,  and  those  from  Cape 
Prince  of  Wales,  King's  Island,  Norton  Sound, 
and  other  distant  places,  the  furs.  It  is  under- 
stood at  all  these  i^laces  that  the  ships  are  at 
Port  Clarence  about  the  first  of  July,  so  hither 
the  natives  come  with  their  trade.  In  some  of 
the  nearer  settlements  all  household  goods  are 
packed  up,  and  the  whole  family  moves  here  to 


74  AKCTIC  ALASKA    AND   SIBERIA. 

be  near  the  fistiing  grounds.  A  smart  man  will 
have  an  igaloo  at  two  or  three  different  places, 
and  go  from  one  to  the  other  whenever  there  is 
a  run  of  fish.  In  the  same  manner  he  moves 
about  in  the  summer  with  his  toopick.  Fish  are 
preserved  either  by  drying  in  the  sun,  or  by 
burying  in  the  sand,  to  keep  them  at  the  freez- 
ing point. 

Near  the  east  end  of  the  Port  is  a  small 
stream,  where  the  ships  get  water,  and  thither 
we  went  when  our  turn  came.  A  dozen  or 
fiiteen  casks,  with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred 
or  more  barrels,  would  be  towed  ashore,  filled 
with  fresh  water  and  towed  back.  It  is  a  good 
day's  work  to  get  oil  three  rafts  of  casks.  We 
got  six  hundred  barrels  of  water. 

When  the  Hunter  sailed,  I  moved  to  steam 
whaler  Balcena,  Capt.  George  F.  AVinslow. 
The  revenue  cutter  Bear  was  expected  every 
day,  and  I  was  anxious  to  rej)ort  the  story  of 
the  unfortunate  castaway  at  Cape  Navarin.  I 
was  also  anxious  for  letters  from  home.  Our 
first  mail  since  leaving  home  was  expected  by 
both  the  Bear  and  the  tender  to  the  whaling 
fleet,  and  was  overcjue  many  days.  This  made 
waiting  tedious,  though  the  weather  was  de- 


THE  SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND.  75 

lightfully  pleasant,  the  thermometer  ranging 
from  fifty  to  eighty  degrees  above  zero  in  the 
sun.  A  number  of  the  sailors  went  in  bathing 
by  jumping  overboard,  apparently  enjoying 
themselves  very  much,  though  it  was  notice- 
able that  they  did  not  remain  in  the  water  very 
long.  The  effects  of  the  hot  sun  told  on  the 
southern  slopes  to  the  hills,  where  vegetation 
struggled  hard  to  throw  aside  its  sere  garb  for 
a  more  verdant  one.  The  hills  had  the  api)ear- 
ance  of  the  hillsides  of  New  England  in  early 
spring,  when  the  grass  starts. 

Natives  came  aboard  nearly  every  day,  and  a 
few  fox,  otter,  beaver,  or  lynx  skins  were  occa- 
sionally bought,  also  fancy  carved  ivory  pipes, 
made  by  the  yonng  men,  and  little  bags  deco- 
rated with  fancy  needle-work,  made  of  various 
Idnds  of  skins  by  the  girls  and  women.  Some 
of  the  carving  showed  a  decided  appreciation  of 
form,  but  most  of  it  was  crude.  Each  native  is 
said  to  keep  a  diary  of  his  hunting  trips  by 
carving  the  important  events  on  a  piece  of  ivory, 
showing  his  camps,  shooting  deer,  walruses, 
seals  or  bears,  or  catching  and  drying  fish.  A 
few  of  the  supposed  diaries  were  offered  for 
sale. 


7(5  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

One  event  haiopened  ashore  wliicli  shows  the 
Indian  nature  in  some  of  these  natives,  Saxy, 
a  Sledge  Island  native,  is  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent traders  along  the  coast.  He  had  a 
grudge  against  a  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  native 
for  stealing  one  of  his  wives.  Happening  to 
meet  the  fellow  here,  Saxy  promi)tly  shot  him. 
Fearing  violence  from  the  man's  friends,  Saxy 
gathered  his  followers  about  him  and  started 
for  home.  Luckily  the  other  party  started 
homeward  for  fear  of  more  shooting.  Should 
this  man's  friends  ever  see  Saxy,  they  will 
attempt  to  kill  him,  for  a  life  must  answer  for 
a  life  here. 

Whalemen  never  neglect  to  observe  the 
Fourth  of  July,  but  our  celebration  could  not 
begin  at  sunrise  in  this  land  of  the  midnight 
sun.  The  colors  were  set  early  by  all  the  ships, 
and  Capt.  S.  P.  Smith  of  the  Wanderer',  gave  a 
dinner  to  all  the  masters  and  their  guest.  Three 
days  later  the  bark  Peai^l,  our  tender,  hove  in 
sight.  Mail  was  what  everybody  asked  for 
first,  then  followed  inquiries  as  to  what  was 
going  on  in  the  world.  Promptly  the  next 
morning  we  took  our  first  turn  along-side  the 
tender,  got  our  quota  of  coal  and  other  supplies, 


THE   SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND.  77 

shipped  the  whalebone,  then  retreated,  and 
anchored  in  order  to  have  time  to  answer  our 
letters.  The  catch  of  the  fleet,  as  far  as  reported, 
had  been  fifty-three  and  one-half  whales,  the 
half  being  the  share  of  a  ship  which  had  divided 
with  the  natives.  This  tender  was  to  take  down 
about  one-half  of  the  catch  of  whalebone  and 
oil,  which,  with  the  trade,  would  make  her 
cargo  represent  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dol- 
lars. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  the  United  States 
revenue  cutter.  Bear,  Capt.  M.  A.  Healy, 
emerged  from  a  dense  fog  and  dropped  anchor 
a  short  distance  from  us.  As  soon  as  discovered, 
she  was  saluted  by  a  blowing  of  whistles  and 
running  up  the  American  flag.  Captain  Wins- 
low  and  I  immediately  went  aboard  and  reported 
with  much  satisfaction,  "No  disaster  so  far." 
I  related  to  Captain  Healy  the  story  of  the  poor 
fellow  at  Cape  Navarin,  and  he  gave  orders  to 
prepare  to  sail  the  next  morning  to  search  for 
him. 

No  cutter  in  the  revenue  service  can  have  a 
more  hazardous  service  to  perform  than  does 
the  Bear.  Formerly  many  trading  vessels  in- 
fested the  whole  Alaskan  coast.      They  were 


78  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

run  by  a  set  of  miserable  scamps  who  sold  the 
vilest  of  whisky  to  the  natives,  and  robbed 
them  of  their  hard-earned  furs,  whalebone,  and 
other  trade.  These  men  are  now  weeded  out. 
Though  these  men  made  large  sums  of  money, 
I  am  told  that  hardly  a  one  of  them  has  lived 
to  enjoy  his  ill-gotten  gains,  either  being  shot, 
or  drowned,  or  losing  the  money  through  drink 
or  other  cause.  Since  the  ajDpearance  of  the 
cutter  these  scamps  have  disappeared.  What 
trade  there  is  now  the  whalemen  get  legiti- 
mately. Our  Government  makes  a  grave  mis- 
take in  prohibiting  the  selling  of  good  rifles 
and  fixed  ammunition  to  these  natives,  for  such 
things  have  become  necessary.  It  would  be 
every  bit  as  sane  a  i^olicy  to  attempt  to  rid  the 
Arctic  Ocean  of  ice  as  to  attempt  to  keep 
breech-loading  arms  from  these  natives.  The 
introduction  of  fire-arms  has  greatly  reduced 
the  supply  of  game  and  driven  most  of  the 
deer  inland,  for  the  natives  often  kill  game  now 
simply  for  the  sport  of  shooting  something. 

The  (gutter  is  of  inestimable  service  to  the 
whalemen.  Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  prop- 
erty and  hundreds  of  lives  are  concerned.  At 
any  instant  a  part,  or  the  whole,  of  the  fleet 


THE   SHORES   OF   NAKOORUKLAND.  79 

may  be  jeopardized.  Furthermore,  the  presence 
of  the  cutter  has  a  wholesome  effect  on  unruly 
crews,  and  it  keeps  hannony  between  the  whale- 
men and  the  natives,  and  among  the  natives 
themselves.  Tlie  physician  is  also  in  demand. 
By  the  aid  of  medical  books  a  shii)-master  often 
proves  a  good  nurse  and  physician.  It  so  hap- 
pened this  year  the  forecastle  of  one  of  the 
steamers  contained  a  i)liysician  whom  drink 
had  degraded.  But  the  presence  of  the  cut- 
ter's physician  alone  can  be  depended  upon, 
and  is  a  necessity  when  so  many  lives  are  at 
stake  and  the  nearest  port  nearly  two  thousand 
miles  off. 

Russia  makes  a  pretense  to  keep  whisky  and 
fire-arms  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Masinkers, 
but  it  amounts  to  nothing.  I  was  told  by 
Indian  Point  natives  that  when  the  Russian 
man-of-war  came  north  in  1886,  several  barrels 
of  liquor  were  found  iu  the  settlement.  These 
were  left  undisturbed,  but  what  breech-loading 
rifles  could  be  conveniently  found  were  taken 
away  from  the  natives.  It  would  seem  to  the 
average  mortal  as  if  a  rifle  would  be  of  more  use 
in  earning  a  living  in  this  barren  corner  of  the 
world    than   any   amount    of    whisky.       The 


80  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD    SIBERIA. 

Eskimo  have  lost  tlieir  cunning  Avith  the  bow 
and  arrow,  spear,  and  other  weapons  of  former 
days.  To  exiDect  a  return  to  the  use  of  these 
is  decidedly  absurd. 

After  taking  my  letters  on  board  the  tendei-, 
I  prepared  to  launch  out  in  that  terror  of  terrors, 
the  Arctic  Ocean.  Steamer  Lucretia,  Capt.  A. 
C.  Sherman,  was  about  to  sail,  so  I  transferred 
my  traps,  and  by  midnight  Ave  were  in  the 
Arctic  Ocean. 

Veins  of  coal  crop  out  at  various  places  along 
the  northern  coast  of  Alaska,  between  Cape 
Prince  of  Wales  and  Point  Lay.  The  best 
veins  are  twenty  miles  or  so  above  Ca^^e  Lis- 
burne,  Avhich  was  our  destination.  The  next 
morning — July  10th — we  were  far  into  the 
ocean.  Occasionally,  as  tlie  fog  Avould  lift,  we 
could  see  the  land  at  the  south  of  us,  otherwise 
there  was  only  the  vast  expanse  of  the  blue  sea, 
with  its  slight,  short  swell.  Not  a  sail  or  a 
cake  of  ice  could  be  seen,  nothing  indicated 
that  we  were  in  any  but  an  ordinar}^  sea,  yet 
my  imagination  urged  me  into  the  belief  that 
there  was  something  extraordinary  in  our  sur- 
roundings ;  that  we  were  tempting  fate  by  being 
in  a  forbidden  place.     Visions  of  terrific  gales 


#  t" 


■9^- 


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":' T..''ii«^ 


.^MM 


THE   SHORES    OF    XAKOORUKLAXD.  81 

and  destructive  ice-floes  passed  before  me,  yet 
we  steamed  on  through  a  smooth,  clear  sea,  with- 
out misliap  or  hindrance. 

The  next  forenoon  we  anchored  among  a 
dozen  or  so  vessels,  tliat  lay  off  Point  Hope, 
waiting  for  the  Tliomas  Pope,  the  tender  to  the 
New  Bedford  fleet.  We  had  the  mail  from  the 
Bear,  and  as  the  various  cai)tains  came  aboard 
in  answer  to  the  mail  signal,  we  learned  the 
good  news  that  five  more  whales  had  been 
caught  than  were  before  reported,  and  the 
unpleasant  news  that  the  Helen  Mar  had  been 
stove  by  ice,  but  not  very  seriously.  One 
sailor,  a  consumptive,  had  died,  and  another 
had  been  killed  by  an  accident.  Two  or  three 
sailors  had  run  away.  The  average  sailor  has  a 
mania  for  running  away,  never  mind  how  barren 
or  desolate  the  place  may  be.  If  he  can  not 
run  away,  he  wants  to  set  fire  to  something. 
Or  what  he  prefers  to  either  of  these,  if  it  be  in 
his  power,  is  to  get  most  thoroughly  drunk. 
In  a  few  days  the  runaways  got  satisfaction  and 
returned. 

As  soon  as  the  mail  was  distributed  we  hove 
up  anchor  and  got  under  way  for  the  coal 
mines,  arriving  there  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 


82  AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

evening.  Cape  Lisburne — so  named  by  Captain 
Cook — kept  up  its  okl  reiDutation  for  being  a 
rough  point  to  turn.  Whenever  the  wind  is 
southerly  it  seems  to  muster  its  strength  under 
the  bluff  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cape — which 
is  850  feet  high  at  its  extremity — to  be  i^rei^ared 
to  pounce  down  upon  passing  vessels  and  roll 
their  keels  up.  We  were  working  along  with 
steam  and  fore-and-aft  sails  until  the  Cape  was 
reached,  and  then  we  got  it.  The  wind  whistled 
and  the  ship  responded  by  attempting  to  lie 
down  sideways.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if 
the  waves  and  the  topmasts  would  embrace, 
but  w^e  forged  ahead,  righted  up,  and  soon 
reached  smooth  sailing. 

The  tender  ajDpeared  on  the  14th.  Twenty- 
five  vessels  were  now  riding  at  anchor,  and 
as  all  were  anxious  to  be  moving  on,  times  were 
busy  night  and  day  until  each  vessel  had 
obtained  her  supply  of  vegetables,  and  stores, 
and  shipped  her  whalebone.  Letters  had  to 
be  read  and  answered,  and  gossip  exchanged. 
Four  days  later  only  four  vessels  remained. 

As  the  ships  began  to  scatter,  the  half  dozen 
or  so  toopickson  the  shore  were  struck,  and  the 
natives  went  on  a  big  deer  hunt.     One  family 


Tin:  siioKLs  uv  nakookukla^^d.         ^:; 

alone  remained.  In  several  trips  ashore  I  had 
noticed  a  slight  difference  in  api^earance  of  these 
natives  from  those  at  Port  Clarence.  There, 
cloth  was  mnch  used  as  under-clothing,  hence 
fur  garments  were  worn  with  the  hair  side  out, 
and  being  made  with  some  regard  to  taste,  the 
result  was  often  not  unpicturesque.  Here  but 
little  cloth  was  used,  and  clothing  was  generally- 
worn  with  the  fur  side  in.  Most  every  frock — 
or,  to  use  the  native  name,  artiggi — ^had  its  hood 
here,  but  at  Port  Clarence  this  attachment  was 
frequently  omitted.  Many  women  had  a  cloth 
gown  that  was  short  like  an  apron.  Skirts  that 
extended  below  the  knee  did  not  seem  to  be 
tolerated.  One  gown  that  I  saw  was  made  of  a 
patchwork  bed-quilt.  It  must  have  made  a 
striking  appearance  before  the  gaudy  colors 
were  toned  down  and  blended  together  with  dirt. 
Practically  no  trade  was  to  be  had  here.  A 
curious  feature  of  trading  with  the  Eskimo  is 
the  manner  in  which  prices  change.  On  one 
ship  x)rice  enough  mil  be  offered  by  a  sailor  for 
an  article  to  usually  purchase  much  more,  but 
without  avail.  Then  this  very  article  will  be 
taken  to  another  vessel  and  gladly  exchanged 
for  a  fraction  of  what  has  just  been  offered  for 


84  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

it.  A  "louse  comb" — the  significant  name  by 
wliicli  a  fine  comb  is  knowTi  in  trade — will 
frequently  purchase  what  that  and  a  knife 
would  not  have  bought  half  an  hour  before. 
The  Eskimo  never  show  all  the  trade  they  have, 
but  carry  a  little  here  and  a  little  there,  per- 
haps producing  something  new  every  day,  but 
always  keej)ing  something  behind,  mayhaps 
in  anticipation  of  dull  times  and  little  trade 
the  next  season. 

Flowers  in  large  variety,  and  some  \  ex- 
quisitely scented  ones,  grow  here.  Two  familiar 
faces  were  the  dandelion  and  the  white  daisy. 
The  ubiquitous  mosquito,  with  his  large 
family,  was  also  here.  His  fierce  war-songs 
would  occasionally  be  interspersed  with  a  bass 
solo  from  the  industrious  bumble-bee.  One 
day  I  found  a  bee  on  a  dandelion  blossom,  while 
within  a  stone's  throw  was  a  snow-drift  nearly 
two  hundred  feet  deep.  Besides  flowers,  this 
region  abounds  in  geological  specimens.  The 
bluff  is  of  trap-rock,  crossed  by  frequent  veins 
of  coal,  and  in  spots  ferns  of  various  sorts  are 
found  preserved  in  the  rock.  I  found  four 
distinct  varieties. 

I  bought  of  one  native  a  fancy  bag  made  of 


THE  SHORES   OF  NAKOORUKLAND.  85 

several  kinds  of  fur  and  decorated  with  tips  of 
red  and  blue  yarn  over  white  deer-skin.  A 
narrow  red  strip  was  a  part  of  the  decorating, 
and  at  first  glance  I  supposed  it  to  be  seal -skin 
tanned  red.  Instead,  however,  it  proved  to  be 
a  piece  of  an  old  flannel  shirt.  While  wander- 
ing among  the  toopicks  one  day  I  came  across 
several  women  skinning  ducks  for  food,  and  I 
noticed  that  some  of  them  would  take  an 
occasional  bite  of  the  raw  flesh.  At  another 
time  a  canoe-load  of  natives,  men,  women,  and 
children,  made  a  meal  of  raw  deer  meat,  scrap- 
ing every  bone  as  clean  as  though  it  were  sand- 
papered. Such  sights  afterward  became  every- 
day occurrences,  and  the  novelty  soon  wore 
off.  It  was  after  eating  this  venison  that  I 
noticed  a  young  girl  have  an  after-dinner 
smoke,  then  take  her  pipe  to  pieces  and  eat, 
with  apparent  relish,  the  nicotine  that  had  col- 
lected in  it. 

We  had  on  board  a  rooster,  the  last  of  a  once 
large  family,  and  he  welcomed  in  each  morning 
with  a  spell  of  vigorous  crowing.  Tliis  must 
have  been  from  force  of  habit,  for,  as  the  sun 
did  not  set,  as  it  was  the  middle  of  the  i)eriod 
of  the  midnight  sun  he  could  not  welcome  its 


86  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AND   SIBERIA. 

rising.  The  cliff  would  reverberate  his  efforts, 
and  he  would  chase  the  echoes  until  near  ex- 
haustion. 

The  weather  was  warm  and  clear,  so  that 
work  was  not  interrupted,  and  in  the  ten  days 
that  we  lay  here  we  mined  ninety  tons  of  coal. 
One  warm  afternoon,  with  the  thermometer 
registering  about  65^^,  several  of  us  went  in 
bathing  in  a  pool  at  the  mouth  of  one  of  the 
creeks.  The  air  was  chilly,  but  the  water  was 
warmer  than  I  ever  knew  salt  water  to  be  on 
the  New  England  sea-coast  north  of  Cape  Cod. 
Tlie  salt  water  was  icy  cold  with  many  cakes 
of  ice  floating  in  it;  but  this  small  stream, 
coming  down  from  the  water-shed,  a  short 
distance  off,  got  full  benefit  of  the  sun's 
warm  rays.  The  earth  was  thawed  out  a  foot 
or  two.  With  this  shallow  soil  and  the  short 
summer,  the  term  of  vegetation  is  only  about 
fifty  days. 

The  Tliomas  Pope  sailed  on  the  morning  of 
the  20th,  with  a  cargo  equal  in  value  to  that  of 
the  other  tender.  Thirty-six  hours  later,  our 
anchor  was  up  and  we  were  bound  northward. 
With  the  tender  went  the  last  link  that  con- 
nected us  Avith  the  world.     There  could  be  no 


THE  SHORES   OK    XAKOOKrKLAND  87 

communication  to  us,  or  from  us,  for  over  three 
months.  We  had  "burned  our  ships  behind 
us,"  and  launched  out  into  a  region  beset  with 
dangers.  Tlie  chances  were  one  to  fifteen  that 
we  would  be  wrecked.  Hardly  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  ahead  of  us  were  the  scenes  of 
the  two  great  wreck  seasons,  when  millions  of 
dollars'  worth  of  property  had  been  destroyed 
and  scores  of  lives  sacrificed.  Yet  we  pushed 
ahead,  heedless  of  these  things,  in  the  hope  of 
getting  a  goodly  number  of  whales.  What  a 
delightful  prospect  for  three  months  of  enjoy- 
ment! 

At  Point  Lay  we  found  most  of  the  sailing 
vessels.  We  remained  with  them  a  day  or  so, 
then  pushed  on  again.  The  Sea  Horse  Islands, 
low  sand-bars,  were  soon  astern,  and  for  ten 
hours  we  pushed  ahead,  occasionally  dodging 
ice.  Night  set  in  with  a  heavy  fog  and 
suspicious  movements  in  the  ice  caused  by 
the  strong  current.  The  next  morning — the 
30th — prudence  advised  turning  our  backs  on 
Point  Barrow — our  objective  point — and  re- 
treating. This  we  did,  but  it  was  a  narrow 
escape,  the  most  serious  predicament  1  had  been 
in.     The  fog  was  intensely  thick,  so  that  no 


88  ARCTIC   ALASKA  AND   SIBEEIA. 

course  could  be  laid  out.  The  ice  was  heavy, 
and  moving  off  to  tlie  northeast  at  a  rapid  rate. 
An  occasional  "  toot"  at  the  whigtle  would  be 
answered  by  the  other  steamers  within  hearing. 
We  thus  kept  track  of  each  other  and  prevented 
collision.  We  struck  a  cake  of  ice  so  hard  that 
we  supposed  we  were  stove.  The  danger  signal 
— three  whistles  —  was  sounded,  only  to  be 
answered  by  another  steamer  in  a  like  pre- 
dicament. For  six  hours  we  wormed  along 
through  the  ice  under  fuU  head  of  steam,  yet 
we  did  not  accomplish  over  twenty  miles, 
though  we  were  steaming  at  the  rate  of  six 
miles.     At  last  we  emerged  into  clear  water. 

Since  leaving  the  coal  mines  we  had  seen  only 
a  low  shore.  There  ai'e  a  few  small  bluffs,  but 
for  the  most  part  the  shore  is  low,  marshy,  and 
broken  by  lagoons.  Consequently  ships  keep 
well  off.  Wainwright  Inlet  hardly  exceeds  a 
fathom  in  depth.  At  Point  Belcher  the  land 
is  a  trifle  higher,  and  it  is  crowned  by  a  large 
settlement.  Only  three  toopicks  were  seen  there, 
showing  that  the  most  of  the  inhabitants  were 
off  trading  or  hunting.  The  scene  of  the  great 
wreck  of  1871  was  solid  with  ice  and  we  passed 
considerably  off  shore  from  it. 


rilK  SUN   AT  MII)NU;il  r.-i-ages: 


THE  SHORES    OF   NAKOOEUKLAND.  89 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  2d  we  dropped 
anchor  opposite  the  settlement  at  Cape  Smyth, 
seven  miles  below  Point  Barrow. 


90  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AXD   SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

W^HALING. 

Though  many  whales  were  caught  by  the 
ships  in  Behring  Sea,  I  did  not  happen  to  be 
near  enough  to  enjoy  the  si:)ort,  and  it  was  not 
until  we  anchored  under  East  Cape  that  I  saw 
my  first  whale  caught.  E^'erything•  had  been 
so  interesting,  however,  that  I  had  not  been 
disappointed,  and  after  I  had  seen  the  first  one, 
I  rejoiced  that  it  was  the  first,  everything  was 
so  favorable.  The  day  was  beautiful,  and  the 
captain  and  I  embraced  the  opportunity  to  make 
the  round  of  the  nine  shi^^s  at  anchor  and 
relate  the  story  of  the  wrecked  man  at  Cape 
Navarin.  When  on  the  extreme  northern  ship,  a 
whale  was  "raised,"  or  seen,  coming  leisurely 
along  up  the  edge  of  the  shore-ice.  The  news 
spread  like  wild-fire,  and  in  :i  few  minutes  thirty 
or  more  whale-boats  were  flitting  about,  each 
endeavoring  to  get  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
spot  where  the  whale  would  next  rise  to  spout. 


WIIAIJ.NG.  91 

When  he  rose  a  boat  darted  an  iron,  but  it 
did  not  hold.  At  the  next  rising  another  boat 
attempted  to  hit  him,  but  also  failed;  but  the 
third  boat  made  fast  to  him.  It  was  a  grand 
sight  to  see  the  whale  make  a  lunge  and  start 
seaward,  towing  the  boat  after  him  at  a  terrific 
pace.  He  went  a  mile  or  two,  then  wheeled 
about  and  made  a  straight  line  for  the  shore-ice. 
Another  boat  was  soon  along-side  to  bend  on 
more  line  to  the  nearly  exhausted  tubs  of  the 
fast  bout. 

All  the  captains  became  so  excited  and  inter- 
ested in  the  chase  that  they  longed  for  some  of 
the  fun,  so  four  of  them  took  the  Hunter's 
steam-launch,  I  accompanying  them.  As  soon  as 
we  reached  the  shore  ice  I  saw  the  whale  sx^out 
behind  a  long  point  of  ice.  It  would  have 
taken  a  boat  considerable  time  to  sail  there, 
but  we  steamed  around  it,  and  before  I  could 
comprehend  the  situation,  were  alongside  the 
monster.  It  seemed  incredible  that  such  a  pow- 
erful creature  could  be  killed.  With  Captain 
Cogan  at  the  helm.  Captain  Sherman  with  a 
darting-gun.  Captain  Kelley  with  a  shoulder- 
gun,  and  Captain  Winslow  and  me  as  ballast, 
we  bore  down  on  him,  fired  two  bombs  into 


92 


ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 


him,  and  rushed  -past  just  in  time  to  escape  a 
sweeping  blow  from  his  powerful  tail. 

It  is  disa^jpointing  to  see  a  whale,  for  most 
pictures  represent  him  as  standing  up  like  a 
buoy  or  posing  on  his  tail  on  top  of  the  Avater. 
The  real  fact  is  that  only  the  top  of  the  head 
about  the  spout-hole,  and  a  small  piece  of  the 
back,  are  seen,  and  perhaps  the  "flukes,''  or 


A  WHALEBOAT    AND   A    WHALE   COMPARED   IN   SIZE. 

in  common  English,  the  tail,  may  take  an  occa- 
sional sweep  in  the  air.  When,  as  near  as  we 
were,  so  that  we  could  look  down  into  the  water 
upon  the  creature,  his  great  size  could  be  par- 
tially comprehended. 

It  seems  to  be  the  duty  of  every  man  in  the 
boat  when  the  whale  is  struck,  to  yell  at  the 
top  of  his  voice.  Even  where  there  is  dignity 
to  be  kept  up,  a  certain  amount  of  this  has  to  be 


WHALING.  93 

done.  In  the  midst  of  the  shouting  was  heard 
the  muffled  ' '  boom, "  ' '  boom ' '  of  the  two  bombs, 
and  the  whale  rolled  over,  dead,  without  a 
struggle.  I  stayed  aboard  the  Lucretia  that 
night  to  see  the  whale  cut-in. 

As  soon  as  a  whale  is  killed  the  vessel  gets 
under  way,  and  sails  to  him,  taking  him  on  the 
starboard  side,  in  front  of  the  gangway.  With  a 
steamer,  as  in  this  instance,  this  is  very  easily 
done,  but  a  sailing-vessel  may  find  it  necessary 
to  maneuver  some  time  before  getting  the  con- 
ditions right  for  work.  First  a  strong  chain,  or 
hawser,  is  secured  around  the  flukes.  This 
runs  through  the  hawse-pipe  and  is  firmly 
fastened  to  the  forward  bit  near  the  windlass. 
Then  another  chain  is  secured  to  one  fin,  and  it 
is  with  this  second  chain  that  the  whale  is 
managed. 

The  carcass  runs  fore-and-aft,  the  head  being 
aft,  and  the  fin  in  front  of  the  gangway.  With 
sharp  cutting  spades,  a  man  cuts  through  the 
blubber,  cii'cling  around  the  whale  from  the 
extremity  of  the  mouth  toward  the  tail,  cork- 
screw like.  He  cuts  down  to  the  "lean." 
By  hauling  on  the  fin-chain  the  carcass  rolls, 
and  the  "blanket-piece"  of  blubber  tears  itself 


94  ARCTIC   ALASKA   ATs'D   SIBERIA. 

off,  aided  by  the  cutting  si)ades.  When  the 
whale  is  rolled  quarter  over  one  lip  comes 
uppermost.  A  tackle  is  fastened  to  this;  then  it 
is  cut  off,  hoisted  on  deck  and  dropped  into  the 
"blubbf^r  room,"  as  the  space  between  decks, 
from  the  mainmast  to  the  forecastle,  is  called. 
All  hoisting  is  done  by  the  windlass,  and  in 
most  of  the  vessels  power  comes  from  a  donkey- 
engine.  The  blanket-piece  is  started  again 
and  the  whale  rolled  half-way  over.  The 
throat  is  then  uppermost.  This  in  turn  is  cut 
off,  and  deposited  in  the  blubber  room,  then  the 
other  lip  is  rolled  up  and  removed.  By  this  time 
the  blanket-piece  becomes  unwieldy  in  its  length, 
so  another  hold  is  secured  close  down  to  the 
carcass,  and  the  strip  of  blubber,  perhaps  fif- 
teen feet  long  and  six  feet  wide,  cut  oft'  and 
dropped  into  the  blubber  room. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  the  whole  operation 
is  now  at  hand,  and  that  is  to  cut  off  the 
"head,"  or  upper  jaw,  which  contains  all  the 
whalebone.  A  false  or  careless  move  might 
destroy  hundreds  of  dollars  worth  of  bone,  or, 
possibly,  cause  the  loss  of  the  whole  head.  A 
chain  is  carefully  drawn  through  a  hole  cut 
between  the  scalp  bone  and  the  tough  blubber 


WHALING.  96 

about  the  spout-liol  e.  The  backbone  is  chopioed 
nearly  through,  near  where  the  blanket-piece 
was  started,  then  b}"  a  jerk  of  the  tackle  the 
weight  breaks  the  remainder  and  the  head  is 
hauled  on  deck.  There  was  once  a  whaling 
captain  who  disjointed  the  head  instead  of 
chopping  it  off.  Tliis  whale's  head  contained 
about  twenty-live  hundred  pounds  of  whale- 
bone, and  as  the  price  of  bone  was  three  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  a  pound  at  that  time,  it  can 
readiJj^  be  seen  how  anxious  a  whaleman  must 
be,  when  cutting-in,  until  he  gets  the  head  on 
deck.  Heads  contain  over  six  hundred  slabs  of 
bone,  and  in  a  large  whale  like  this,  the  pieces 
range  in  length  from  tvvelre  feet,  or  a  little 
over,  down  to  a  few  inches.  For  convenience  in 
working,  each  sliiiD  has  a  "cutting  stage"  of 
planks  that  hangs  over  the  water  in  front  of  the 
gangway,  so  that  the  men  can  stand  nearly  over 
the  whale.  It  is  from  this  that  the  work  is 
done,  and  it  was  here  that  I  stood  to  see  the 
whole  operation. 

With  the  head  cut  off,  the  rest  of  the  cutting- 
in  is  easy  and  simple.  The  blanket  piece  is 
peeled  o|f  in  stri^is  about  fifteen  feet  long,  until 
a  point  near  the  flukes  is  reached.     There  the 


96  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBEKIA. 

backbone  is  disjointed.  The  final  haul  brings 
on  deck  the  flukes  with  the  blanket-piece.  The 
carcass  either  floats  off  or  sinks.  These  blanket- 
pieces  of  blubber  are  cut  and  torn  off  the  whale 
in  the  same  manner  that  the  jieel  is  cut  and  torn 
off'  an  orange  when  paring  it.  Frequently  the 
natives  are  aboard,  and  work  is  done  slowly  in 
order  that  they  may  have  an  opportunity  to 
cut  off  as  much  as  possible  of  the  lean  meat. 
The  cutting-in  was  a  novelty  to  me,  but  the 
work  of  the  natives  was  more  entertaining. 
They  had  six  canoes  crowded  in  near  the  whale, 
and  the  instant  there,  was  a  lull  in  the  pro- 
ceedings, a  man  from  each  would  clamber  on  to 
the  carcass,  splash  about  in  the  blood  and  water, 
and  slash  away  at  the  meat  with  villainous  look- 
ing knives.  They  worked  like  heroes  and  yelled 
like  fiends.  Some  worked  with  their  hands  under 
water,  and  most  of  them  Avere  knee-deep  in  it 
all  the  time.  One  fellow  lay  almost  flat  on  his 
stomach  and  burrowed  in  under  the  blubber  in 
advance  of  the  cutters.  His  feet  were  flying 
about  dangerously  near  keen-edged  knives, 
but  he  did  not  get  cut. 

Whalemen  still  observe  the  old  sperm-whal- 
ing custom  of  lustily  shouting   "Hurrah  for 


IIIK   MIS^IN(^    I. INK. -A    I'OIN  T   \..\Y    N  A  11  VK-    l'iiK<' Kr. 


WHALING. 


97 


five  and  forty  more"  when  the  head  or  last 
piece  of  bhibber  is  landed  on  deck.  But  this 
shout  is   not   because    the   work  is  all  done. 


TENDINIS    THE   TRY-POTS. 


Early  the  next  morning  the  try -pots  were  set  to 
working.  First,  the  blubber  was  cut  into 
"  horse  pieces "  about  a  foot  square  and  two 
feet  long,  then  "minced,"  that  is,  cut  into  thin 
slices  to  facilitate  the  trying-out  of  the  oil.  The 
blubber  then  goes  into  the  pots,  and  after  the 


98  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

oil  is  boiled  out,  the  remains  of  the  blubber 
have  become  hard  and  brittle,  but  are  pressed 
to  get  the  last  dregs  of  oil;  then  these  "  scraps" 
are  used  for  fuel,  and  they  make  a  hot  fire. 
This  night  the  sun  barely  dij)ped  below  the 
horizon  at  midnight,  but  when  darkness  does 
interfere  with  the  cutting-in,  or  the  trjdng-out, 
a  lot  of  scraps  are  put  into  a  wire  basket  and 
lighted,  maldng.a  "bug  light"  which  is  equal 
to  a  pitch  pine  torch.  The  oil  is  slowly  bailed 
from  the  try-pots  into  a  cooler,  and  after  run- 
ning through  two  or  three,  is  pumped  into 
casks  and  stowed  down  in  the  hold.  This 
whale  made  one  hundred  and  twenty  barrels  of 
oil. 

Such  a  feast  as  the  natives  had  after  their 
work  \tas  finished!  They  scattered  all  over  the 
ship,  and  in  their"  canoes,  eating  blubber.  Each 
one  was  gnawing  away  on  a  big  chunk,  some- 
times of  seA'eral  pounds.  He  would  surround 
one  corner  with  his  mouth,  grasp  it  in  his  teeth, 
then  saw  it  off  with  his  knife.  Why  the  lips 
were  not  sawed  off  was  a  mystery.  The  bigger 
the  mouthful  the  more  happy  he  appeared. 

Whenever  opportunity  offered,  whether  while 
gamming,  or  at  other  times,  I  asked  the  various 


WHALING.  99 

captains  how  miioli  a  hundred-barrel  whale 
would  weigh.  Some  estimated  it  at  thirty- 
tons,  others  forty  or  lifty,  and  not  a  few  were  as 
high  as  seventy-five  tons.  Even  a  "calf,"  as 
the  young  whale  is  called,  that  is  only  four 
days  old,  is  a  heavy  load  to  haul  on  deck. 
With  polar  whales  the  "cow,"  or  female,  is 
larger  than  the  "bull,"  or  male.  With  all 
other  species  of  whales  it  is  just  the  other 
way.* 

Our  next  whaling  was  off  Point  Barrow. 
When  we  left  Cape  Smyth  we  steamed  around 
tlie  ground-ice  along  the  shore  into  the  o^en. 
water  beyond. 

Two  other  steamers  were  in  sight  whaling, 
and  soon  we,  too,  had  boats  down.  Two  whales 
were  disporting  themselves  on  the  edge  of  the 


*  The  following  are  the  measurements  of  a  whale  eighty- 
barrels  in  size,  made  by  Captain  J.  F.  Poole,  of  the  iV.  8. 
Perkins,  of  San  Francisco,  in  August,  186T :  Total  length, 
fortj- -seven  feet;  length  of  pectorals,  or  "fins,"  eight  feet; 
breadth  of  pectorals,  four  feet;  distance  from  nib  end  to 
spout-holes,  sixteen  feet  ten  inches;  extension  of  the  flukes, 
nineteen  feet;  thickest  part  of  blubber,  one  foot  four  inches; 
thickness  of  the  black  skin,  one  inch;  length  of  the 
longest  piece  of  whalebone,  eleven  feet  one  inch;  distance  the 
bone  was  imbedded  in  the  gum  of  the  jaw,  ten  inches; 
number  of  pieces  of  whalebone  on  eacii  side,  330;  weight  of 
the  longest  piecoi  of  whalebone,  seven  pounds. 


100  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

ice  just  aliead  of  the  ship,  and  a  boat  made  fast 
to  one  of  them,  but  lost  him.  Two  hours  later 
another  whale  was  struck  and  lost;  but  not  long 
afterward  a  third  was  struck,  killed,  and  secured. 
When  struck,  he  darted  under  the  ice,  taking 
nearly  all  the  line  in  the  boat,  but  the  bombs 

1 


BOATS    OFF    CRUISING. 

had  done  their  fatal  work.  Slowly  and  care- 
fully he  was  hauled  out,  and  when  once  along- 
side, was  quickly  cut  in.  Boats  were  off  cruising 
along  the  edge  of  the  ice  most  of  the  time. 
During  two  nights  young  ice  formed,  so  no  whal- 
ing was  done.  One  evening  a  large  whale 
came  up  astern  of  the  ship,  about  three  ship- 
lengths  off,  spouted  three  or  four  times,  then 
disappeared  under  the  ice.     He  took  so  little 


WHALING.  101 

time  and  was  so  spry,  that  a  boat  was  not 
lowered  quick  enough.  Even  my  detective 
camera  seemed  to  work  slow,  but  I  ' '  shot  "  in 
time  to  get  him  as  he  rounded  to  go  down. 

We  were  in  a  narrow  channel  between  the 
ground-ice  at  the  south  and  the  main  pack  at 
the  north.  The  current  ran  through  this  like  a 
mill-stream.  In  it  a  sailing-vessel  would  be 
perfectly  lieli3less.  Even  the  steamers  found  it  no 
easy  task  to  make  headway  against  it.  This 
powerful  current,  with  a  northeasterly  trend, 
has  carried  many  a  ship  to  destmction.  There 
was  more  or  less  change  in  the  pack  every  day, 
usually  according  to  the  direction  of  the  wind. 
Once  it  nearly  closed  in  on  us,  driving  out  some 
of  the  steamers.  AVhen  the  second  change  came 
we  all  got  out  as  fast  as  sail  and  steam  could 
carry  us.  No  vessel  can  be  built  that  could 
withstand  being  nipped  between  ice,  grounded 
so  as  to  brace  itself  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
pack  with  millions  upon  millions  of  tons  press- 
ing behind  it  on  the  other  side. 

For  six  weeks  we  lay  around  Point  Barrow. 
^Vhenever  the  ice  would  allow  of  it,  we  would 
go  out  along  the  edge  of  the  pack,  or  floe,  and 
hunt  for  whales.     Frequently  we  would  pick 


102  AECTIC    ALASKA   AIS^D   SIBERIA. 

up  one  or  two,  but  more  often  the  ice  would 
drive  us  back  to  our  retreat  before  we  could 
begin  whaling.  But  no  time  M^as  lost  when 
whaling  was  possible.  The  ship's  crew  was 
divided  into  "watches."  One  watch  would  be 
on  deck  eight  hours  one  night  and  four  hours  the 
foil  owing  day,  while  the  other  watch  would  have 
the  eight  hours  for  rest — the  "watch  below," 
and  the  four  hours  for  the  "  watch  on  deck." 
By  alternating,  one  watch  would  sleej)  most  of 
one  night,  then  be  on  deck  most  of  the  next 
night.  But  there  was  no  regard  either  for  the 
watch  below  or  the  watch  on  deck,  when  there 
was  whaling  to  be  done.  There  are  very  few 
days  in  the  eight  months'  cruise  when  whaling- 
can  be  done,  so  no  oxDportunity  is  lost,  be  it 
Sunday  or  any  other  time. 

The  old  way  of  whaling,  simply  with  har- 
poons and  lances,  has  long  since  been  su^Derseded 
by  the  use  of  bombs.  The  bombs  contain  nearly 
a  iDOund  of  powerful  powder,  and  when  they 
explode  inside  of  a  whale,  shatter  it  mercilessly. 
They  are  shot  from  a  heavy  metallic  shoulder- 
gun,  or  from  a  "darting  gun."  This  is  a  gun 
attached  to  a  pole  about  six  feet  long.  A  har- 
IDoon  is  fitted  to  the  gun,  so  the  operation  of 


WHALING.  1()3 

"darting"  the  harpoon  is  like  the  old  method. 
But  when  the  harpoon,  or  "iron,"  is  "made 
fast"  to  the  whale,  the  bomb  is  shot  from 
the  gun.  It  enters  the  whale's  body  and 
explodes  in  a  few  seconds,  usually  in  a  vital 
spot,  and  kills  the  whale  instantly,  hence  the 
royal  sport  that  whaling  was  under  the  harpoon 
system,  has  now  become  merely  a  butchering 
operation.  There  are  cases,  however,  when  a 
whale  shows  great  fight.  Sperm  whales  are  born 
fightei*s,  but  polar  whales  are  timid  and  die 
meekly. 

We  found  one  whale  that  was  not  meek. 
When  off  in  the  ice,  in  a  large  hole  some  two 
miles  in  diameter,  we  struck  a  whale  that 
spouted  thick  blood.  This  was  an  indication 
of  a  fatal  wound,  but  he  seemed  determined  to 
die  game.  Heading  for  the  middle  of  the  hole, 
he  swept  his  flukes  through  the  air,  smashing 
the  rudder  of  one  boat,  then  plunging  ahead 
in  his  terrible  agony.  His  huge  head  would 
come  out  of  the  water,  then  his  flukes  would 
take  a  sweep  in  the  air.  Five  boats  were  about 
him,  each  endeavoring  to  put  another  bomb 
into  him,  and  yet  not  get  within  reach  of  his 
destructive  tail.     Once  he  headed  for  the  pack, 


104         ARCTIC  Alaska  and  siSEiiiA. 

but  we  steamed  in  front  of  liim  and  headed 
him  off.  Then,  at  a  favorable  opportunity,  a 
boat  ran  up  to  liim.  The  boat-steerer  raised 
his  gun,  and  was  about  to  shoot,  when  the 
whale  disapi)eared.  Again  he  came  up,  made 
another  exhibition  of  his  giant  strength,  and 
sank.  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  watched 
him  poking  his  head  out  of  the  water,  swing- 
ing his  huge  flukes  about,  and  making  faint 
attemi)ts  to  spout. 

Trailing  on  quietly  and  calmly  behind  him, 
all  this  time,  were  two  frail  cedar  whale-boats, 
each  made  fast  to  him  by  a  small  steel  harpoon 
and  a  hempen  line  two  inches  in  circumference. 
With  each  lising  he  seemed  to  gain  additional 
strength,  but  the  boats  followed  closer  than 
he  could  guard  against.  At  last,  a  good  shot 
was  had.  The  muffled  report  of  its  exj)losion 
followed,  and  he  rolled  over,  dead.  '•Hurrah!" 
shouted  every  man  in  the  boats  and  on  the 
ship.  It  was  a  shout  of  victory,  a  victory  of 
human  skill  and  cunning  over  nature's  royal 
brute,  the  embodiment  of  strength  and  bigness. 
Few  men  in  the  crew  had  ever  witnessed  such 
a  spectacle  before.  Certainly  I  never  had,  and 
never  exjpect  to  again.     It  was  a  victory  worthy 


WHALING.  105 

tlie  superior  intelligence  of  man.  To  come 
upon  a  whale  and  kill  him  instantly  is  a  tame 
affaii',  but  to  defy  him  to  combat,  circumvent 
him  at  every  point,  and  finally  kill  him,  is 
entirely  a  different  thing. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day  the  boats 
were  off  whaling,  and  I  was  watching  them, 
when  the  lookout  said,  "  See  there!"  A  large 
polar  bear  with  one  cub  was  wandering  along 
the  edge  of  the  jiack,  climbing  over  one  hum- 
mock after  another  until  they  got  within  two 
ship-lengths  of  us.  There  they  halted,  for 
they  saw  the  ship,  but  being  at  the  windward 
could  not  scent  it.  Their  noses  were  high  in 
the  air  sniffing,  and  as  they  iDatiently  held 
them  there,  I  took  the  hint  and  i)liotograplied 
them.  The  scene  was  exceedingly  interesting, 
for  they  were  the  first  bears  I  had  seen,  but  it  was 
rudely  intruded  upon  by  somebody  calling  out 
"Fast  boat!"  In  an  instant,  two  white,  shaggy 
creatures  were  seen  to  head  about  and  scamper 
away  as  fast  as  their  clumsiness  could  carry 
them.  No  bullet  followed  them,  but  my 
camera  caught  them  as  they  were  disappearing 
over  a  hummock.  Before  noon,  we  had  a  hun- 
dred-and-twenty-barrel  whale  cut  in. 


106  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

The  food  of  tlie  bowliead-whale  is  found  in 
"slicks,"  and  these  slicks  give  to  the  water 
the  appearance  of  oily  streaks.  The  differ- 
ent kinds  of  jell j -fish  that  cause  these  slicks 
are  "bird's-eye,"  "snow-flake,"  "sun-gall," 
etc.  They  range  from  the  size  of  a  pea,  in  the 
first  named,  to  six  inches  or  more  in  diameter, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  sun-gall.  This  last  is 
found  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  and  sometimes  in 
New  York  harbor.  Bowheads  also  eat  red 
shrimp,  j^oung  salmon,  and  other  young  fish. 
All  whales  are  fat  or  lean  according  to  the 
supply  of  feed.  The  whalebone  is  all  in  the 
upper  jaw,  while  the  lower  jaw  has  tw^o  large 
lips,  one  on  each  side.  Whalebone  is  covered 
on  the  inner  edge  with  coarse  hair,  like  horse- 
hair, which  also  covers  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 
When  feeding,  the  whale  spreads  out  his  broad 
lips,  swims  rapidly  through  a  feed -slick,  and 
when  his  mouth  is  full  of  the  food-charged 
water,  he  closes  the  lips  partly,  then  forces  the 
water  out  of  his  mouth  with  his  tongue.  The 
hair  serves  as  a  sieve  and  collects  all  the  feed. 
This  is  swallowed,  and  then  the  operation  is 
repeated  until  his  appetite  is  satiated. 

While  at  anchor  one  day,  I  looked  over  the 


WHALING.  107 

ship's  books  to  see  liow  much  we  ate,  and  I 
found  that  our  eight  month's  supply  of  food 
was  60  barrels  of  flour;  4,000  pounds  of  ship- 
bread;  70  barrels  of  salt  beef  and  iDork;  100 
pounds  of  salt  cod-fish;  400  bushels  of  potatoes; 
1,000  pounds  of  sugar;  300  gallons  of  molasses; 
1,000  pounds  of  coffee;  150  pounds  of  tea; 
1,000  or  more  cans  of  meat,  vegetables,  fruit, 
etc.,  besides  small  groceries. 

The  men  are  paid  a  percentage,  or  "lay," 
the  lay  being  "long"  or  "short"  according  to 
the  ability  or  position  of  the  man.  The  cap- 
tain gets  the  "shortest"  lay,  which  varies  from 
one-eighth  of  the  total  value  of  the  voyage  to 
a  sixteenth.  Then  come  the  officers  and  the 
men,  the  lays  growing  "longer"  down  the 
list  until  the  steerage-boy  is  reached,  and  he  is 
fortunate  if  he  gets  a  two-hundredth.  Each 
ship  has  five  whale-boats,  and  these  boats  are 
in  charge  of  the  officers  and  the  boat-headers, 
the  captain  always  being  in  the  crow' s  nest  to 
direct  the  boats  by  a  code  of  signals.  While 
the  boat-header — for  each  officer  is  a  boat- 
header — manages  and  steers  the  boat,  the 
boat-steerer  uses  the  harj^oon,  and  frequently 
also    the    shoulder-gun.      Boats    always    sail 


108  ARCTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBERIA. 

down  to  the  wliale.  To  use  a  paddle,  or  an 
oar,  Avould  frighten  the  whale  the  instant  it 
touched  the  water.  Each  boat  has  two  hundred 
fathoms  of  line  coiled  in  tubs,  which  is  used 
with  the  harpoon.  Then,  as  emergency  articles, 
there  is  a  keg  of  fresh  water,  a  keg  of  bread, 
a  lantern,  and  an  ax  to  chop  the  line  in  case 
the  whale  threatens  to  swamp  the  boat. 

Whale- ships  are  naturally  oily,  though  they 
are  thoroughly  scrubbed  with  lye  after  the 
whaling  is  over.  This  oilyness  has  saved  many 
a  whaler  from  wreck.  A  good  illustration  of 
this  is  the  experience  of  Capt.  Edward  Penni- 
man  when  he  was  master  of  the  Minerva.  His 
was  one  of  the  last  ships  to  leave  the  Arctic, 
having  fallen  in  with  many  whales.  When  he 
had  the  blubber  of  several  on  board,  he  headed 
out,  keeping  the  try- works  running.  Soon  a 
severe  gale  came  on;  the  blubber  all  shifted  to 
one  side,  giving  the  ship  a  bad  list,  and  making 
her  unmanageable;  the  weather  was  too  thick 
to  see  anything,  and  she  drifted  into  the  break- 
ers on  the  shoals  off  Cape  Prince  of  Wales.  One 
heavy  sea  after  another  broke  over  her,  threat- 
ening destruction  to  everything  on  board,  for 
she  was  on  her  beam   ends  with  her  lee  rail 


WHALING.  109 

under  water.  But  one  very  heavy  sea 
stove  several  casks  of  oil  that  were  on  deck. 
Like  magic  the  sea  stopped  breaking;  the 
caj)tain  wore  ship,  reached  deep  water,  and 
escaped. 

On  September  6th  I  changed  to  the  steamer 
Beluga,  Capt.  J.  F.  Brooks.  That  afternoon 
the  northeast  current  was  the  strongest  I  had 
yet  seen  it,  and  as  the  day  was  very  calm,  sev- 
eral sailing-vessels  were  entirely  at  its  mercy, 
slowly  but  surely  bound  to  their  destruction. 
But  ha^Dpily  the  olose  of  the  day  brought  a 
breeze,  and  they  escaped.  That  night  we 
anchored  along  the  ground-ice  off  Cape  Smyth, 
where  there  were  a  dozen  or  more  sailing-vessels 
that  had  Just  come  uj).  Almost  the  first  ucavs 
that  we  h(?ard  was  that  the  revenue  cutter  had 
been  successful  in  the  search  at  Cai)e  Navarin, 
and  rescued  Vincent. 

Scarcely  a  day  i^assed  without  more  or  less 
mirage,  and  at  times  the  effect  was  marvelous. 
Ships  would  be  reflected  long  before  they 
hove  in  sight,  or  perhaps  the  ice  would  be 
piled  up  in  fantastic  walls  or  masses.  The 
horizon  would  be  irregular  on  account  of 
this,   and    remain  so   for  hours,   there  being 


110  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

practically  no  tide.  The  highest  tide  is  three 
feet,  but  the  average  for  the  year  is  only  about 
ten  inches. 

A  whaling  and  trading  station  nas  oeen  main- 
tained for  some  years  in  the  building  erected 
just  above  Cape  Smyth,  by  the  United  States 
Government,  for  the  Signal  Service  Expedition 
under  Lieutenant  Ray  in  1880-2;  with  a  small 
sloop  and  two  boats'  crews,  whaling  is  carried 
on  whenever  the  weather  and  the  ice  permit,  and 
the  whales  are  agreeable.  Whalebone  and  furs 
are  also  traded  for  with  the  natives.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  station  has  probably  saved  the  lives 
of  many  natives  by  furnishing  food  in  exchange 
for  work.  The  average  native  is  the  most 
improvident  being  imaginable.  He  can  not 
have  regard  for  the  future.  His  desire  to  trade 
amounts  almost  to  a  mania.  He  will  trade  off 
his  last  bit  of  ammunition,  or  remnant  of  food, 
seemingly  for  the  sake  of  trading;  the  case  is 
not  as  infrequent  as  it  might  be  in  which  he 
M'ill  trade  off  his  own  child.  Death  by  starva- 
tion is  as  frequent  as  death  from  natural  causes, 
but  it  would  be  much  less  frequent  were  he  more 
provident  and  energetic.  At  the  station  a  large 
supply  of  venison  is  always  on  hand  and  no 


WHALING.  Ill 

more  toothsome  steaks  can  be  imagined  than 
I  ate  there. 

Two  days  at  the  anchorage  and  we  were  off 
again,  the  wind  having  scattered  the  edge  of 
the  pack.  A  strong  northwesterly  gale  coming 
on,  we  could  not  safely  move,  the  ice  was  chang- 
ing about  so  much.  But  we  were  under  a  lee  of 
ground-ice,  so  were  secure.  Soon  that  began  to 
break  up  and  threaten  damage  to  the  sailing- 
vessels.  In  fact,  two  of  them  were  driven  ashore. 
Some  retreated  down  the  coast,  but  half  a 
dozen  of  the  bolder  ones  pushed  ahead  and 
anchored  behind  the  Point.  In  spite  of  the 
gale,  we  went  off  toward  the  pack  next  morn- 
ing. It  was  the  only  direction  we  could  go 
in,  for  the  pack  had  swung  around  on  the 
land  at  the  south,  cutting  off  retreat,  and  it 
would  not  have  been  an  impossible  condition  of 
affairs  for  it  to  have  remained  so  for  the  rest 
of  the  season.  A  few  days  later,  however,  a 
change  in  the  wind  scattered  the  ice. 

When  the  whales  enter  the  Arctic,  they  fol- 
low up  the  American  shore  into  the  northeast 
as  fast  as  the  ice  breaks  up.  They  go — nobody 
knows  where,  but  it  is  surmised,  into  the  great 
basin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  river.    But 


112  ARCTIC   ALASKA  AXD   SIBERIA. 

the  eastward  of  Point  Barrow  is  a  dangerous 
region;  there  may  not  be  a  cake  of  ice  in  sight, 
yet  a  sudden  change  in  the  wind  may  bring  up 
the  pack  in  a  twinkling.  No  places  of  retreat 
are  at  hand,  for  the  water  is  shallow  inshore, 
hence  shix)s,  if  caught,  would  be  most  likely 
pushed  high  and  dry  on  the  beach.  Ships  of 
much  draught  drag  their  keels  in  the  mud  if 
they  go  far  to  the  eastward.  One  of  the  greatest- 
dangers  in  Arctic  whaling  is  this  going  east  of 
Point  Barrow.  Yet  the  steamers  and  many  sail- 
ing-vessels venture  there  at  every  opportunitj^ 
Franklin's  Return  Reef  is  the  farthest  limit, 
though  in  1886,  steamers  reached  Barter  Island, 
and  aimed  at  Herschel's  Island,  four  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  Point  Barrow.  Had  they 
gone  there,  however,  they  Avould  have  been  shut 
in  for  the  winter.  We  went  fifty  miles  to  the 
eastward,  when  the  sudden  change  in  the  wind 
caused  us  to  have  an  anxiety  to  see  what  was 
behind  us.  Some  of  the  boats  were  off  cruis- 
ing, and  before  tliey  could  be  called  aboard  they 
were  caught.  By  hauling  over  the  ice,  however, 
they  finally  got  aboard,  but  not  before  one  had 
been  badly  stove.  Returning  to  the  Point,  we 
found  the  whole  fleet,  with  but  two  or  three 


WHALING.  113 

vessels  lacking,  at  anchor.  The  next  morning  an 
off-shore  gale  greeted  us.  This  gale  drove  all  the 
ground-ice  out,  and  two  days  afterward  hardly 
a  cake  was  to  be  seen.  Meantime  I  had  moved 
to  the  Wanderer,  Capt.  S.  P.  Smith.  The 
steamers  again  disappeared  into  the  eastward, 
and  as  the  weather  permitted,  some  sailing- 
vessels  followed.  Others  squared  their  yards 
and  headed  westward.  Twelve  or  fifteen  of  ue 
felt  our  way  around  in  the  fog  for  six  days, 
part  of  the  time  at  anchor,  and  nearly  all  the 
time  blowing  a  fog-horn. 

One  stray  whale  was  picked  up,  but  whaling 
was  so  "dry"  that  the  other  vessels  now 
squared  away  also  for  the  westward. 


114  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

POINT  BARROW,    HOME. 

Midway  between  Point  Barrow  and  Cape 
Smyth  is  the  "Shooting  Station,"  a  favorite 
rendezvous  for  duck  hunters.  While  on  the 
Grrampus,  Capt.  Henry  Gr.  Dexter,  we  were 
forced  to  anchor  off  this  Station.  I  went  ashore, 
and  while  there,  saw  sad  effects  of  the  per- 
nicious habit  of  treating,  to  which  Americans 
are  so  wedded.  Over  half  the  adult  natives, 
regardless  of  sex,  were  intoxicated.  Some  of 
the  men  were  iDaralyzed  with  liquor,  and  one 
old  fellow  was  frothing  at  the  mouth  in  his 
crazy  delirium.  lie  understood  the  use  of 
liquor  well,  for  the  next  day  he  kicked  his  wife 
to  death.  From  personal  observation,  I  knew 
that  over  half  the  fifteen  or  so  toopicks  had  their 
victims.  A  little  fong-a — liquor — would  have 
purchased  the  whole  settlement  and  everything 
in  it.  In  fact,  no  trade  but  that  would  be 
taken.     Liquor  is  not  directly  traded,  but  now 


POINT   BAKKOW,    HOME.  115 

and  then  a  captain,  in  his  insatiate  desire  to 
make  a  few  dollars,  shows  the  quality  of  his 
character  by  lubricating  a  bargain  for  whale- 
bone with  a  few  drinks  of  whisky,  and  per- 
liaps  makes  a  present  of  a  bottle  or  so  to  the 
unfortunate  possessor  of  the  bone.  Such  cases 
are  few,  but  they  should  be  fewer,  and  the 
captain  of  the  cutter  neglects  his  duty  in 
not  making  them  fewer.  Most  whalemen 
refuse  to  trade  liquor,  or  treat  with  it,  under 
any  consideration.  But  in  every  walk  of  life 
it  is  not  impossible  to  find  a  man  who  will  jump 
at  an  opportunity  to  sell  himself  to  the  devil 
for  money.  The  shix)s  that  sold  the  liquor 
had  taken  their  trade  and  disappeared  to 
conceal  their  deviltry. 

Snow-squalls  soon  became  frequent,  and 
young  ice  formed  every  night.  Our  supply  of 
fresh  water  was  not  sufficient  to  carry  the 
season  through,  and  as  plenty  was  to  be  had 
on  a  large  cake  near  by,  we  tied  up  to  it  and 
pumped  sixty  or  seventy  barrels  into  our  tanks. 
Double  that  amount  could  have  been  easily 
obtained.  The  warm  rays  of  the  sun  in  sum- 
mer melt  the  snow  and  ice"  on  the  floes,  and 
form  basins  of  fresh  water.     If  the  ice  be  low 


116  ARCTIC    ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

and  flat,  the  water  gets  salty,  but  on  cakes  like 
this  one,  high  above  the  salt  water  line,  the 
water  is  very  good. 

During  the  winter  of  1876-7,  a  jam  off  the  Point 
left  a  mountain  of  ice  that  towered  far  above 
the  masts  of  the  ships,  and  remained  for  two 
years.  This  was  the  biggest  ice  Avhalemen  have 
ever  seen  here,  ice  at  other  times  being  "big" 
that  is  half  as  high  as  the  masts.  The  past 
winter  had  been  free  from  gales,  hence  no  jams 
had  occurred,  and  all  the  ice  was  comparatively 
low  and  flat. 

August  31st  I  went  on  board  the  steamer 
TJirasher,  Capt.  Charles  E.  Weeks.  Bad 
weather  kept  all  the  steamers  at  anchor  for  the 
week  following.  This  gave  me  opportunity  to 
go  ashore.  For  some  minutes  I  stood  on  the 
extreme  northern  point  of  the  continent,  so 
close  to  the  water  that  an  occasional  ripple 
would  wet  my  boot.  The  beach  was  covered 
with  ice.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  into  the 
north  and  eastward,  was  ice,  blue  in  its  solidity, 
and  no  more  penetrable  than  so  much  granite. 
To  the  westward  was  our  only  avenue  of  retreat, 
and  that  was  apparently  solid  with  ice  for  two 
or  three  miles  ofl'  shore,  and  then  there  was 


POINT   BAIIROW,    HOME.  117 

only  a  narrow  open  space  of  clear  water  between 
that  and  the  solid  north  j)ack.  A  strong  cur- 
rent coming  out  from  the  lagoon  behind  the 
Point  swept  a  clear  path  Just  off  the  shore  from 
the  eastern  pack  to  the  ice  at  the  north.  Look- 
ing east,  north,  or  west,  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  but  ice — a  monotonous  and  chilly 
prospect.  What  was  beyond,  even  the  imagi- 
nation could  not  surmise.  Half  a  mile  back 
from  the  Point  was  the  settlement,  where  gen- 
eration after  generation  of  Eskimo  have  lived 
and  died,  yet  each  and  all  have  looked  with 
awe  and  dread  upon  the  great  unknown  region 
at  the  north.  As  I  turned  to  go  to  the  settle- 
ment, I  picked  up  a  few  pebbles,  one  of 
Avhich  was  half  under  water,  yet  the  particle 
of  the  continent  that  was  farthest  north. 

Point  Barrow  is  low  and  sandy,  but  half  a 
mile  back  it  rises  to  a  height  of  perhai)s  fifty 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  on  this  bluff  is  the  set- 
tlement. The  most  northern  building  is  a  rude 
wooden  structure,  which  I  was  told  was  a  dance- 
hall.  Scattered  among  the  igaloos  were  a  dozen* 
or  so  toopicks.  A  greater  part  of  the  inhab- 
itants were  away;  of  the  few  that  were  at  home, 
old  people  and  invalids  seemed  to  be  in  the 


118  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

majority.  It  was  pitiable  to  see  some  of  them. 
One  poor  woman  liad  frozen  both  feet,  and 
mortification  had  set  in,  causing  much  of  the 
flesh  to  fall  off  nearly  to  her  knees.  Another 
was  afflicted  with  a  large  running  sore.  An 
old  man,  with  some  organic  difficulty,  could  not 
leave  his  toopick.  In  these,  and  other  like  cases, 
we  were  asked  for  medicine.  The  poor  creatures, 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  disease,  were  dirty, 
squalid,  ignorant,  and  helj)less.  None  of  tlie  iga- 
loos  were  occui^ied,  but  in  some  cases  the  work 
of  preparing  them  for  the  coming  winter  was 
going  on.  Sods  and  cakes  of  peat  were  being 
dug  in  a  marsh  near  by,  and  placed  over  wind- 
holes  and  wherever  else  was  necessary. 

Some  igaloos  had  their  entrances  blocked  up 
by  stagnant  water;  others  had  water  inside, 
possibly  having  been  permanently  deserted.  In 
all  cases,  the  windows  were  broken  and  covered 
with  boards,  cloth,  or  the  like.  Finding  one 
large  igaloo  that  was  dry,  I  took  the  liberty  to 
drop  down  through  the  window  into  it.  Tliis 
was  the  most  northern  habitation  on  the  conti- 
nent, which  added  to  my  desire  to  see  it.  The 
roof  was  high,  so  that  I  could  stand  erect. 
Across  the  north  end  of  the  room  was  a  plat- 


POIXT   BARROW,    HOME  119 

form,  raised  about  a  yard  from  tlie  floor  and 
extending  out  from  the  wall  five  feet.  A  bun- 
dle of  deer  skins  neatly  rolled  up  lay  on  it; 
underneath  were  a  box  and  one  or  two  house- 
liold  utensils.  Close  to  the  wall  on  the  south 
side  was  an  oval  hole  in  the  floor  large  enougli 
for  one  not  very  corpulent,  to  crawl  through; 
this  lead  to  the  entrance  proper.  A  fe^v  cook- 
ing and  other  utensils  stood  in  a  corner  near 
by;  in  the  other  corner  was  a  small  blubber-oil 
' '  stove. ' '  On  each  side  of  the  room  was  another 
of  these  stoves;  each  was  made  of  a  piece  of 
three-inch  plank,  probably  wreckage.  The  first 
one  was  about  eigliteen  inches  long,  the  second 
about  two  feet,  and  the  third  three  feet.  They 
were  hollowed  out  to  a  depth  of  an  inch  and  a 
half,  and  raised  slightly  from  the  floor.  There 
was  no  moss  on  them  to  serve  as  a  wick,  nor  oil 
in  them,  but  a  piece  of  well-smoked  blubber 
hung  nearly  two  feet  above  each,  indicating  that 
they  had  seen  service.  The  walls  were  of  smooth 
boards  closely  held  together,  and  the  floor  was 
a  good  one.  Everything  was  as  scrupulously 
neat,  clean,  aufl  orderly,  as  any  housekeeper 
could  wish  for.  The  three  lamps  were  thickly 
coated  with    grease,  but   that  could    not    be 


1^0  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBp]RIA. 

otherwise.  Every  article  seemed  to  have  its 
own  place  and  be  in  it,  three  or  four  racks 
on  the  walls  containing  many  of  the  smaller 
articles.  The  size  of  this  igaloo  was  twelve  by 
fourteen  feet.  Outside,  opjDosite  the  entrance, 
was  the  usual  staging  or  scaffold,  on  which  were 
some  whalebone,  perhaps  fifty  pounds,  deer- 
skins, a  bear,  and  other  skins,  two  dead  seals, 
and  other  valuables.  Evidently  the  owner  of 
the  place  was  in  good  circumstances. 

After  seeing  the  place  of  the  living,  I  went  to 
"Dead  Mans  Island"  to  see  the  place  of  the 
dead.  It  is  a  low  sand-heap  half  a  mile  long 
and  not  ten  feet  above  the  sea-level  at  its  highest 
point.  There  were  evidences  of  perhaps  thirtj- 
graves,  but  not  over  half  u  dozen  were  intact. 
The  rest  were  marked  by  a  collection  of  a  few 
bones,  most  of  the  skeletons  being  s<mttered  in  all 
directions.  Respect  for  the  dead  does  not  seem 
to  exist  in  the  average  Eskimo.  If  one  dies  who 
has  no  property  or  family  influence,  a  team  of 
dogs  is  harnessed  to  his  corpse,  and  he  is  dragged 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  settlement  and  aban- 
doned to  the  mercy  of  the  village  canines.  They 
promptly  desi)oll  it  of  all  flesh.  If,  however, 
there  be  property  or  influence,  the  body,  with 


POI^^   BARROW,    HOME.  121 

most  of  the  personal  effects,  is  wrapped  in  a 
piece  of  canvas,  or  in  skins,  and  de^DOsited  among 
other  like  dead.  This  particular  place  of  the 
dead  happened  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
dogs,  but  others  that  I  saw  were  not.  As  the 
Eskimo  dog  is  no  respecter  of  corpses,  the 
ultimate  result  is  always  the  same,  regardless 
of  what  the  worldly  condition  of  the  deceased 
may  have  been. 

The  morning  of  the  7th  dawned  clear,  and 
everybody  was  promptly  under  way.  The 
easterlj'-  gale  had  broken  up  and  scattered  the 
ice.  Then  followed  a  week  of  fine  weather, 
and  we  succeeded  in  catching  several  whales  off 
near  the  pack.  The  afternoon  of  the  13th  day 
of  Sex)tember  was  rainy,  and  it  continued  to 
drizzle  well  through  the  night.  A  week  before 
we  had  lain  under  the  Point,  nearly  hedged  in 
by  the  ice,  and  surrounded  by  every  indication 
of  the  approach  of  winter,  young  ice  formed 
nightly,  and  the  land  was  white  with  snow. 
Now  we  were  exj^eriencing  a  midsummer, 
temperate-zone  rain.  But  Arctic  weather  is 
tickle,  as  shown  by  the  records  of  the  previous 
sx)ring  as  kept  at  the  whaling  station.  On  March 
23d  it  was  14°  below  zero  at  7  a.  m.,  and  86" 


122  ARCTIC    ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

above  in  tlie  evening;  on  the  25tli  it  was  12° 
below  at  7  a.  m.,  35"  at  noon,  and  9°  above  at 
night;  on  the  28th  the  weather  ranged  from 
30°  below  to  14°  above.  Such  violent  changes 
are  particularly  frequent  during  the  first  half 
of  the  year. 

After  this  we  saw  no  more  whales,  though 
we  cruised  for  two  days.  It  was  evident  that 
the  Point  Barrow  whaling  was  over.  To  remain 
longer  was  to  get  caught  in  the  young  ice.  As 
the  whales  leave  Point  Barrow  they  follow  the 
edge  of  the  pack,  and  are  found  all  along  its 
edge,  even  as  far  west  as  Herald  Island. 

On  the  16th  we  headed  westward.  Leaving 
the  vicinity  of  the  Point,  we  steamed  out  to  the 
pack,  working  with  fore-and-aft  sails.  After 
steady  work  for  an  hour  or  two,  we  concluded 
that  the  strong  northeast  current,  aided  by  a 
head  wind,  was  carrying  us  astern.  To  buck 
against  this  combination  would  be  too  great  a. 
drain  on  the  small  coal  pile,  which  was  very 
precious,  so  we  returned  to  the  Point,  and  made 
use  of  the  j)leasant  weather  to  test  the  chro- 
nometers, which  had  seen  no  service  since  April. 
The  next  day  all  but  three  steamers  were  bound 
west,  aided  by  the  wind,  which  was  now  fair. 


POINT    BARROW.    HOME.  123 

That  afternoon  I  moved  for  the  last  thne,  going 
to  the  steamer  Orca,  Capt.  George  F.  Bauldry. 
The  next  morning  the  three  remaining  steamers 
were  bound  westward,  and  Point  Barrow  had 
seen  her  last  ship  until  the  next  summer. 

The  edge  of  the  pack  was  ragged  and  very 
in'egular.  Long  points  of  ice  were  frequent, 
with  occasional  deep  guts,  or  bights  between 
them.  Had  we  followed  the  straightest  course 
possible,  it  would  not  have  been  long  before 
we  would  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  Herald 
Island.  But  instead,  we  skirted  the  edge  of  the 
pack,  making  our  course  very  tortuous.  Then 
for  two  days,  or  so,  we  had  the  strong  northeast 
curren.t  against  us.  During  the  day-time  we 
made  progress,  but  at  night  we  lay  hove-to  and 
the  current  consumed  considerable  of  the  day's 
headway. 

Just  two  months  before,  I  was  photographing 
the  sun  at  midnight.  Now  the  sun  did  not 
rise  early  enough  to  be  present  at  our  six  o'clock 
brealvfasts.  Then,  too,  it  shortened  up  its  hours 
proportionately  at  the  other  end  of  the  day,  so 
that  it  was  quite  dark  at  seven  o'clock,  and  the 
hours  for  whaling  were  few. 

Not  a  day  passed  but  what  we  saw  whales, 


124  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

some  in  the  ice,  otliers  in  clear  water.  Occa- 
sionally one  of  the  latter  would  be  still,  sunning 
himself,  perhaps,  as  he  lazily  spouted  and 
rolled  with  the  swell,  but  he  managed  to  keep 
his  weather  eye  on  the  ships.  The  others  went 
as  though  intrusted  with  some  important  mes- 
sage which  required  immediate  delivery  at  a 
distant  point.  A  favorite  resort  for  the  whales 
seemed  to  be  in  the  porridge  ice,  fringing  the 
pack.  The  heavy  swell  rubbed,  rolled,  and 
Jumbled  the  scattering  ice  together,  making 
porridge  that  was  too  much  for  a  whaleboat  to 
live  in. 

In  about  the  longitude  of  69^°,  and  west  lati- 
tude 169°,  is  always  a  long  i^oint  of  ice,  caused, 
probably,  by  the  peculiarities  of  the  currents, 
and  possibly  backed  up  by  shoal  water.  It 
was  here  that  ships  from  the  eastward  and 
westward  used  to  meet  in  former  daj^s  and 
exchange  news,  hence  it  got  to  be  called  "  Post- 
office  Point. "  After  passing  this  we  raised  a  sail, 
then  another,  and  another,  and  from  this  time 
on  we  were  among  the  fleet  again.  Some  vessels 
were  boiling  and  we  saw  others  get  whales. 
Just  ahead  of  us  was  the  Thrasher^  and  she 
picked  up  a  "stinker,"    as  a  dead   whale  is 


POINT   BARROW,    HOME.  135 

technically,  and  aptly,  called.  We  passed 
within  a  mile  of  her,  and  it  was  near  enough. 
Up  to  this  time  I  had  been  regretting  that  I 
had  not  seen  one  of  these  dead  whales,  and 
been  able  to  photograph  it.  Now,  however,  the 
gentle  breezes  that  were  wafted  toward  us  from 
that  direction  laid  their  burdens  directly  under 
our  noses,  and  from  that  moment  I  feared  that 
one  might  make  its  appearance  especially  for 
my  benefit. 

We  spoke  several  vessels,  and  nothing  but 
good  news  was  heard,  excej^t  that  one  ship  was 
reported  still  "clean,"  that  is,  without  oil. 
Many  vessels  that  left  Point  Barrow  a  month 
before,  discouraged  and  disgusted,  now  had 
several  whales  apiece.  In  fact,  a  good  season's 
work  had  already  been  done.  The  weatlier 
had  been,  and  still  was,  perfect.  Day  after 
day  we  had  enjoyed  typical  New  England  Octo- 
ber days.  Fog  had  not  concealed  the  whales 
or  embarrassed  the  vessels.  Neither  had  gales 
interfered  by  scattering  the  ice  and  destroying 
shipping  and  whaling  gear. 

Whalemen  usually  count  upon  finding  still 
whales  in  the  waters  about  Herald  Island,  and 
as  only  four  more  were  wanted  to  fill  all  our 


126  VRCTIC   ALASKA   AIS'D   SIBERIA 

oil-tanks,  we  had  hoped  to  find  them  there, 
but  our  cruising  was  in  vain,  so  we  returned 
eastward. 

In  rare  instances  whales  are  caught  napping. 
I  heard  of  two  such  cases  this  year.  A\^hen 
the  Mary  and  Susan  was  in  the  vicinity  oi  the 
Sea-horse  Islands,  Captain  Owen  saw  two  still 
whales  that  were  evidently  asleep.  The  boats 
were  off  cruising  at  the  time,  but  were  called 
back,  and  one  of  them  signaled  on  to  these 
whales.  Had  two  boats  been  there,  both 
whales  could  easily  have  been  killed,  but 
as  it  was,  only  one  was  secured  The  other 
instance  was  with  one  of  the  Orca''s  boats.  A 
whale  lay  asleep  in  a  small  hole  in  the  ice.  His 
breathing  could  be  heard,  but  fearing  to 
gaily  him  by  going  over  the  ice,  chase  was 
given  to  another  whale.  Losing  that,  tlie  boat 
returned  and  still  heard  the  sleeper  breathe. 
Going  around  the  cake,  a  small  lead  wide 
enough  for  a  boat  to  enter  was  found.  In  this 
little  retreat  the  whale  was  sleeping  in  apparent 
contentment  and  security,  when  three  bomb- 
lances  were  put  into  him.  A  spasmodic  move- 
ment of  the  flukes  was  the  only  indication  that 
the  huge  carcass  had  jDossessed  life. 


POIISTT   BARROW,    HOME.  127 

At  the  dawn  of  day  on  the  27th,  whales  were 
raised.  A  cold  northerly  wind  was  blowing, 
and  a  heavy  swell  was  on,  but  this  did  not 
deter  the  boats  from  giving  chase.  When  they 
returned,  they  were  covered  with  ice.  Where- 
ever  a  drop  of  water  struck,  it  had  been 
instantly  transformed  into  ice.  The  men,  the 
boats,  and  the  gear  w^ere  heavily  coated  with  it. 
The  last  blanket-piece  was  hauled  on  deck 
none  too  soon,  for  the  wind  rapidly  increased 
to  a  gale.  That  night,  and  the  next  day,  were 
rough  enough,  and  cold  enough,  to  satisfy  any 
old  sailor.  In  breaking,  the  waves  threw  water 
over  the  shi})  from  stem  to  stern.  The  main 
deck  was  six  inches  or  more  deep  with  slush 
formed  from  the  frozen  spray,  and  the  quarter- 
deck was  but  a  little  better  off.  In  fact,  every- 
thing that  w^as  exposed  got  its  coating  of  ice. 
All  around  the  hull,  from  the  water-line  to  the 
rail,  was  a  solid  coating  of  ice,  in  some  places 
a  foot  or  more  thick.  The  lower  rigging  was 
comx:)letely  ice-bound.  After  forty-eight  hours, 
pleasant  weather  appeared  again,  the  wind 
became  less  furious,  and  the  sea  settled  down 
to  its  usual  moderate  swell.  The  cold,  how- 
ever, abated  but  little  after  this.     The  sun's 


128  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

rays  gradually  cracked  off  our  supercargo  of 
ice,  but  they  had  no  influence  with  the  ther- 
mometer, which  varied  from  10°  to  15°  above 
zero,  but  with  the  atmosphere  so  humid,  this 
was  colder  than  10°  below  zero  in  New  England. 
Clear  weather  again  was  keenly  appreciated, 
with  its  sparkling  and  crisp  aii\  One  could 
not  but  feel  more  buoyant  and  spirited,  espe- 
cially with  the  recent  gale  as  a  background. 

It  was  on  such  mornings  as  these  that  Jack 
Frost  exhibited  his  most  artistic  work.  No 
more  exquisite  sight  can  be  conceived  than  a 
ship,  hull,  rigging,  and  all,  covered  with  a 
heavy  coat  of  hoar-frost.  What  was  black 
and  dingy,  became  sparkling  and  bright. 
Heaviness  and  clumsiness  became  graceful  and 
airy.'  The  fancy  depicts  phantom  ships  as 
artistic  and  beautiful.  But  here  is  the  stern 
reality  of  life,  in  the  ruggedness  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  fairly  bearding  Boreas  in  his  den,  was 
something  more  than  a  phantom  ship:  a  ship 
that  combined  all  the  strength  and  durability 
that  genius  and  labor  can  command.  It  was  not 
graceful  or  light,  but  clumsy,  heavy,  and  devoid 
of  everything  ornamental  or  artistic.  Yet  when 
enshrouded    by  the  hoar-frost  with    its  own 


POINT    BAIIKOW.    HOME.  12i) 

spirit  of  beauty,  the  transformation  was  com- 
l^lete.  The  one  is  a  fleeting  dream  that  pleases 
the  imagination;  the  other,  an  actuality  that 
leaves  a  vivid  imprint  on  the  memory  of  its 
exquisite  beauty 

It  is  on  such  mornings,  too,  that  the  sailor 
hugs  his  seal  or  deer  skin  coat  about  him  as 
the  order  comes  to  "lower  away,"  With  our 
four  last  whales  the  water  was  rugged,  and  the 
boats  iDloughed  through,  and  sometimes  under, 
the  waves  before  conquering  their  prey. 
Woolen  clothing  would  absorb  water,  and  be 
frozen  stiff  in  a  few  minutes  in  any  of  the 
boats,  but  the  skins  shed  the  water,  and  are 
only  stiffened  by  the  outside  coating  of  ice. 
This  was  particularly  true  with  next  to  the  last 
whale.  The  gun  was  so  iced  up  that  it  refused 
duty,  hence  the  boat  was  fast  to  the  whale  with 
a  harpoon,  but  with  no  bomb  to  explode.  The 
whale  towed  the  boat  through  and  under  many 
heavy  seas;  then  took  all  the  line.  Other  boats 
soon  came  up,  and  made  an  end  to  the  struggle, 
but  not  before  every  man  in  the  four  boats  had 
an  ice  overcoat  on.  When  the  men  came  on 
board  and  took  their  coats  off,  they  fairly 
stood  alone,  being  so  stiffened  with  ice. 


180  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD   SIBERIA. 

Such  gales  as  the  one  just  experienced  are 
apt  to  drive  off  the  ships,  so  that  when  the 
blow  is  over,  they  find  themselves  far  from 
where  the  whales  are.  We  had  endeavored 
to  hold  on  to  the  ice  by  steaming,  but  the 
wind  drove  us  back  to  Herald  Island.  When 
we  got  eastward  again  to  where  the  whales 
were,  the  cold  interfered  by  causing  much 
"smoke"  to  rise  from  the  water.  The  air 
being  many  degrees  colder  than  the  water, 
caused  condensation,  and  so  much  of  this  steam 
rose  that  the  spoutings  of  the  whales  were 
obscured.  Later,  as  the  water  grew  colder,  it 
became  milky  from  this  condensation,  and  less 
smoke  arose.  The  wind  drove  the  ice  south, 
and  as  we  lay  aback  nights,  it  drifted  as  fast 
as  we  did;  thus  we  kept  where  the  whales  were. 

At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  October  2d, 
the  Tlirasher  was  beheld  with  all  colors  out,  a 
sign  that  she  was  "full."  Her  last  whale  was 
along-side,  being  cut  in.  About  noon,  she  made 
all  sail,  and  h(\aded  homeward,  reporting  tanks, 
casks,  and  everything  full  of  oil,  with  twenty- 
five  heads  of  bone.  But  the  Thrasher  was  not 
alone  in  her  proud  disxilay  of  colors,  for  before 
noon  we  had  the  twenty-eighth  wliale  along- 


POINT    BAHKOW,    IIO.ME,  131 

side.  All  the  colors  were  run  up,  and,  as  the 
last  blanket-piece  came  on  deck,  all  hands  set 
up  a  joyous  shout,  not  only  the  regulation 
"hurrah  for  five  and  forty  more,"  but  for  beat- 
ing the  best  record.  The  bells  were  rung,  the 
whistle  blown,  and  throats  rasj^ed  hoarse  by 
shouting.  Ui.)  to  this  time,  the  catch  of  twenty- 
seven  whales  by  Capt.  L.  C.  Owen,  in  1881,  was 
"high  hook." 

The  morning  of  October  5th  we  were  becalmed 
under  East  Cape,  Siberia.  Three  other  vessels 
were  in  sight  on  the  American  shore  in  the  same 
predicament.  Steam  gave  us  an  advantage, 
and  before  noon  we  were  below  the  Straits  and 
actually  out  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

On  the  morning  of  July  10th,  when  I  went 
on  deck,  I  found  myself  in  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
I  had  looked  into  the  ocean  before,  but  this 
was  my  first  actual  being  within  its  waters.  I 
knew  that  old  Avhalemen — men  who  had  braved 
every  sort  of  danger — the  stonn,  reef,  hurri- 
cane— dreaded  no  place  more  than  this.  I 
knew  that  its  gales  were  terrific,  its  fogs  dan- 
gerous, and  its  ice  treacherous.  I  knew  also 
that  victims  were  called  for  unceremoniously, 
and  that  shipwreck,  with  possible  loss  of  life,  was 


132  ARCTIC   ALASKA  AND   SIBERIA. 

a  foregone  conclusion  every  year.    There  were 
over  twelve  hundred  men  in  the  fleet,  yet  not  one 
of  us  could  feel  that  he  was  beyond  the  call  of 
wreck.     Day  after  day  had  come  and  gone. 
We  had  followed  the  whales  into  their  haunts, 
though  beset  on  all  sides  with  the  dangerous  ice. 
The  wily  northeast  current  had  grasped  two  or 
three  vessels  and  carried  them  to  the  verge  of 
destruction,  then  delivered  them  up  to  safety. 
A  heavy  fog  had  dropped  down  on  the  fleet, 
and  kept  everybody  in  suspense  for  over  a  week. 
Then  came  the  si^reading  out.     A^essels  had 
scattered  all  the   way  along  the  edge  of  the 
pack,  even  off  into  the  northwest  beyond  Herald 
Island.      One  whale  after  another  had  been 
picked  up,  until  we  reached  our  full   cai^ac- 
ity.    Saying  good-bye  to  all  things,  we  emerged 
from  the  Arctic  amazed  at  its  gentleness.    The 
gauntlet  had  been  beset  with  snares,  yet  every- 
body ran  it  successfully.     The  furies  seemed 
to  have  been  suddenly  tamed.     Two  or  three 
bad  winds  had  been  experienced,  but  they  were 
mild  for  Arctic  blows. 

It  is  a  weight  lifted  from  every  man's  heart 
to  feel  that  he  is  below  the  Straits  homeward 
bound. 


POINT   BARROW,    HOME.  133 

There  had  been  notliiiig  to  lead  me  to  further 
fear  the  Arctic.  I  liad  not  seen  any  particularly 
brilliant  aurora  borealis;  there  had  not  been 
any  snow  or  other  reminder  such  as  one  would 
expect  at  the  approach  of  winter.  East  Cape 
and  the  Diomedes  were  barely  tinged  with 
white,  and  Indian  Point,  which  we  reached  the 
next  morning,  gave  no  more  evidences  of  winter 
than  it  did  when  I  saw  it  in  June.  We  had 
had  three  narrow  escajDes  from  wreck,  but 
we  might  have  had  as  serious  experiences  in 
any  other  sea. 

It  is  a  custom  among  many  of  the  vessels 
that  ship  natives,  to  save  the  flukes  of  one 
whale  for  each.  In  this  way  food  enough  to 
last  well  into  the  winter  is  obtained.  The 
Orca  had  three  natives,  but  they  got,  besides 
their  llukes,  considerable  blubber  that  had  been 
left  over.  When  we  dropped  anchor  under 
Indian  Point  the  sea  was  too  rough  for  more 
than  the  most  courageous  of  the  men  to  come 
out  in  whale-boats.  But  they  were  overjoj'ed 
at  the  sight  of  the  blubber,  and  worked 
vigorously  until  the  last  particle  was  in 
their  boats.  The  sight  was  one  never  to  be 
forgotten.      Some   pitched    it  up  out  of    the 


134  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

blubber  room,  others  dropped  it  ovei"  into  the 
boats,  and  the  rest  stowed  it  away  to  the  best 
advantage.  Those  on  deck  rather  had  the  best 
of  it,  for  they  could  cut  off  an  occasional 
X^iece,  or  suck  the  oil  off  their  fingers  to  take 
the  edge  off  their  appetites.  The  men  in 
the  blubber  room  got  besmeared  from  head  to 
foot  with  dripiDings,  Avhile  those  in  the  boat 
had  an  occasional  piece  of  blubber  dropped  on 
them  by  way  of  variety.  In  sx3ite  of  these  side 
plays,  the  work  went  merrily  on  until  it  was 
finished. 

The  one  great  question  that  irritates  the 
Eskimo  mind  is,  how  to  get  enough  to  eat.  The 
dei^endence  of  these  people  upon  the  whalemen 
is  well  shown  by  the  remark  of  one  of  the  men 
tome:  "I  b'lieve  no  whale-ship,  Masinkerman 
all  die." 

There  was  a  very  noticeable  change  in  the 
appearance  of  these  people  since  I  last  saw 
them.  They  had  discarded  their  old  dirty 
clothes  of  summer,  and  put  on  new  winter  suits, 
which  were  neat  and  clean;  most  of  them  wore 
water-proofs,  as  the  day  was  damp.  The  whole 
settlement  turned  out  and  lined  the  beach, 
awaiting  revelations.     That  the  sight  of  the 


POINT   BAUIU)W,    HOME.  135 

blubber  tickled  the  JMasinker  appetite  was 
evident  from  the  sort  of  war-cry  that  was  raised. 
Then  all  sat  down  on  the  sand  and  feasted, 
and  they  were  still  eating  when  we  sailed,  two 
hours  afterward. 

The  lower  part  of  Behring  Sea,  through 
which  we  were  to  pass,  particularly  off  St. 
Matthew's  and  St.  Paul's  Islands,  is  usually 
a  very  stormy  place  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  so 
the  ship  was  made  ready  for  the  worst;  but  it 
did  not  come,  and  there  was  nothing  to  inter- 
fere with  the  work  necessary  to  be  done.  The 
"gums"  had  to  be  scraped  off  the  whalebone; 
then  the  ship  had  to  undergo  a  thorough  scrub- 
bing outside  and  in.  After  this,  followed  the 
washing  and  drying  of  the  whalebone.  It  was 
soaked  for  forty-eight  hours  in  salt  water,  then 
thoroughl}''  scrubbed  with  hot  salt  water, 
rinsed,  dried,  and  i)acked  away. 

A  shorter  course  than  through  the  "  seventy- 
two"  passage  was  through  Ounimak  Pass. 
As  we  approached  the  pass,  the  islands  were 
nearly  concealed  by  fog,  but  as  we  drew  abreast 
of  the  Island  of  Ounimak,  the  fog  lifted  and 
the  volcano  came  out  in  bold  relief  against  a 
dark  blue  sky.     Being  5,525  feet  high,  it  was 


136  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

a  grand  siglit,  and  as  Captain  Bauldry  said  he 
had  never  seen  it  before,  though  he  had  passed 
it  probably  twenty  times,  we  botli  accepted 
the  event  as  a  very  pretty  compliment  and 
greeting. 

In  going  through  the  Straits,  into  the  Pacific, 
I  saw  a  most  marvelous  effect.  The  night 
was  intensely  dark,  and  we  were  going  under 
full  head  of  steam  between  high,  overshadow- 
ing shores.  The  water  was  saturated  with 
jjhosj)horescence,  and  as  the  propellor  churned 
uj)  the  sea,  it  made  a  luminous  wake,  extending 
astern  of  us,  which  extended  far  into  the  dark- 
ened distance.  The  effect  was  startling  and 
wierd. 

Some  work  was  necessary  on  the  ship  before 
entering  i)ort.  The  crow's  nest  \v«,s  taken 
down  and  stowed  away  for  next  year,  the  masts 
were  scraped  down  and  varnished,  the  engine 
and  boilers  cleaned  and  insi^ected,  and,  at  the 
last  moment,  the  sails  all  unbent  and  stowed 
away.  And  just  before  entering  port,  we  shed 
our  sldn  clothing  and  i3ut  on  our  "shore 
clothes." 

On  the  morning  of  October  25th  we  steamed 
into  San  Francisco  harbor,  being  the  first  whaler 


POINT   BARROW,    HOME.  137 

to  arrive.  I  had  been  gone  twx)  hundred  and 
tliirty-six  days,  of  which  eighty-seven  were 
spent  within  the  Arctic  Oc-ean.  During  the  whole 
time  I  had  experienced  only  the  best  of  every- 
thing. The  oldest  whalemen  in  t^ie  Arctic  could 
not  remember  such  a  remarkable  year.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  be  exceptional,  and  I  ex^Deri- 
enced  and  saw  more  in  this  one  year  than  I  could 
see  in  three  average  years.  I  had  seen  nothing  of 
the  hardships  of  Arctic  whaling,  yet  enough  to 
convince  me  that  no  men  deserve  what  money 
tliey  earn  more  than  do  these.  Even  the  severe 
gales  passed  me  by.  Part  of  the  fleet  experi- 
enced one  of  the  most  terrific  gales  for  years  on 
October  2d,  but  I  was  up' at  the  edge  of  the 
pack  enjoying  most  perfect  weather.  We  were 
quietly  whaling,  while  ships  considerably  less 
than  one  }iundred  miles  distant  were  in  the 
fiercest  of  the  gale. 

Thirty-two  vessels  were  in  the  fleet  this  year, 
fourteen  of  them  owned  in  New  Bedford,  the 
other  eighteen  in  San  Francisco,  and  all 
returned.  It  was  one  of  the  very  few  years  in 
the  histoiy  of  Arctic  whaling  when  every 
vessel  that  sailed  returned  to  port. 


138  AKCTIC  ALASKA   AND  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  yi. 

THE  ISTAKOORUKS. 

Little  is  known  of  the  Nakooruks,  as  no 
systematic  study  of  their  life  and  customs  has 
ever  been  undertaken.  Several  observing  men, 
however,  have  lived  among  them  for  periods 
varying  from  one  to  three  years,  and  from  their 
observations,  together  with  my  own,  I  gather 
the  following: 

The  Eskimo  who  inhabit  !N'orthern  Alaska 
call  themselves  Innuit,  singular  Innuk,  mean- 
ing the  people.  This  would  indicate  that  they 
have  regarded  themselves  as  the  sole  inhab- 
itants of  the  earth  world,  or,  perhaps,  as  the 
"chosen  peoi)le."  But  this  name  is  never 
applied  in  every-day  use.  It  may  give  them  a 
scientific  (ilassification  under  the  general  name 
Eskimo,  but  their  common  name,  and  the  one 
by  which  they  are  known  to  whalemen  and 
traders,  is  Xakooruk.  This  is  their  word  for 
"good,"  and  as  tliey  applied  it  to  tliemselvi^s 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  139 

when,  whalemen  first  invaded  the  Arctic,  x)rob- 
ably  to  indicate  that  they  were  good,  or  peace- 
able, it  has  got  fastened  to  them  as  their  name. 
Those  that  live  inland  are  often  called  "deer- 
men"  to  distinguish  them  from  the  "fisher- 
men," or  those  who  live  along  the  coast.  The 
former  seldom  meet  white  men,  and  conse- 
quently are  diffident  and  unobtrusive,  while 
many  among  the  latter  are  learning  the  imi)u- 
dent  importance  of  some  of  the  traders  and 
sailors  with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  Some 
keen  observers  claim  to  see  a  difference  between 
the  deermen  and  the  fishermen,  and  hold  that 
the  former  show  marked  indications  of  Ameri- 
can Indian  blood,  while  there  are  not  striking- 
indications  of  its  presence  along  the  coast, 
except  in  instances  where  deermen  have  become 
fishermen. 

The  land  of  the  Nakooruks  begins  in  the 
vicinity  of  Port  Clarence,  and  extends  eastward 
as  far,  perhaps,  as  the  Mackenzie  River,  though 
this  is  surmise,  as  nothing  is  known  of  the 
region  beyond  Point  Barrow.  The  inland 
limits  are  vague,  owing  to  a  lack  of  knowledge 
of  the  country,  and  the  nomadic  habits  of  the 
people.    Many  families  live  on  the  road.    They 


140  ARCTIC  ALASKA   AISTD   SIBERIA. 

go  and  come  wherever  the  best  hunting  is. 
Fishing  is  a  more  stable  occupation,  and  some 
deermen  about  Kotzebue  Sound  have  perma- 
nent abodes  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  that 
they  inhabit  during  the  run  of  fish.  As  far  as  I 
saw  the  country,  there  was  not  a  sign  of  a  tree 
from  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  to  Point  Barrow. 
I  am  told,  however,  that  the  river  banks  back 
from  Kotzebue  Sound  are  wooded  with  a 
stunted  growth.  Above  this,  no  trees  are 
known  to  exist.  Shrubs  are  found,  particu- 
larly a  sort  of  scrub  willow  that  grows  along 
the  river  banks,  but  this  never  exceeds  ten  feet 
in  height,  or  one's  arm  in  size.  This  willow 
si^reads  out  over  the  ground,  and  wherever  it 
touches  it  takes  root. 

In  this  desolate  region  there  are,  perhaps, 
two  thousand  five  hundred  people,  at  an  ap- 
proximate estimate.  When  at  Cajje  Smyth, 
I  saw  a  family  that  well  illustrated  tlieir 
life.  Three  years  before,  it  was  living  near 
Kotzebue  Sound,  then  it  packed  up  and  went 
inland  deer-hunting.  It  wandered  about  from 
one  point  to  another,  and  this  spring  ap- 
peared where  I  saw  it.  "Wliat  the  next 
move    would    be,    probably    not  one    of   the 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  1*41 

family  conld  tell.  The  ruins  of  igaloos  and 
settlements  indicate  that  at  some  time  the  pop- 
ulation must  have  been  much  larger.  Without 
doubt,  the  presence  of  the  whaling  fleet  has 
done  much  toward  decimating  their  num- 
bers. 

The  average  native  is  constitutionally  lazy, 
and  if  he  can  beg  a  meal  to-day  he  forgets  that 
he  should  be  at  work  laying  up  food  for  the 
cold,  long  winter  soon  to  come.  Before  the 
government  had  a  revenue  cutter  in  these 
waters,  large  quantities  of  vile  whisky  were 
sold  by  unprincii^led  traders,  and  the  natives 
consumed  so  mucli  time  in  drinking  it  that  the 
hunting  season  was  allowed  to  pass,  and  star- 
vation was  thus  brought  on.  But  other 
agencies  have  also  aided  in  this  decimation. 
The  introduction  of  lire-arms  has  driven  most 
of  the  deer  far  inland,  many  natives  following. 
Whalemen  have  practically  driven  the  wah'uses 
from  the  shore,  and  greatly  reduced  the  num- 
bers of  hair-seals  and  whales.  Thus  all  the 
supplies  of  food  have  been  curtailed.  In 
addition,  disease  has  been  introduced  by 
the  white  men.  All  these  causes,  together 
with   the    great    mortality    among     children, 


142  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

much  of  it  natural,  but,  in  some  instances, 
intentional,  liave  caused  several  years  of  famine 
and  deatli. 

In  summer,  when  the  ships  are  about,  or 
there  is  hunting,  the  winter  quarters  are 
deserted,  and  with  a  few  household  utensils,  a 
toopick,  and  the  trade,  the  families  move 
about  from  point  to  point  as  desire  directs. 
The  half-dozen  points  about  which  the  ships 
congregate  at  times  i)resent  a  very  lively 
appearance.  But  when  they  sail,  the  toopicks 
are  packed  up  and  pitched  elsewhere.  When 
the  cold  weather  comes  on,  and  the  creeks 
begin  to  freeze  over,  the  families  return  to 
their  winter  homes. 

One  of  the  largest  settlements  is  at  the  veiy 
gateway  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  on  the  sand-spit  at 
the  end  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales.  The  natives 
here  have  always  been  more  treacherous  and 
warlike  than  the  others  until  within  a  few 
years,  and  they  are  still  feared  and  mistrusted 
by  their  neighbors.  They  formerly  waged  war 
upon  everybody  within  reach,  and  were  sullen 
and  menacing  to  the  whalemen.  This  was 
especially  true  until  they  met  a  sudden  check 
at  the  hands  of  Capt.  George  Gilley.     How  this 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  143 

happened  is  best  given  in   Mr.   Gilley's  own 
words. 

OAPTAliS^   GILLEY    AND   THE  CAPE    PRINCE   OF 
AYALES     NATIVES. 

"I  came  u})  in  1878  in  the  brig  William  H. 
Allen,  on  a  whaling  and  trading  voyage.  I 
reached  East  Cape  early  in  July.  I  then  started 
to  cross  the  Straits,  but  a  thick  fog  came  on. 
The  current  carried  us  into  shoal  water,  so  we 
droijped  anchor.  Soon  a  canoe  load  of  Prince 
of  Wales  natives  came  along-side,  and  the  chief 
waved  a  skin  on  a  pole,  indicating  a  desire  to 
trade.  A\Tien  he  got  on  board  he  wanted 
ammunition.  I  got  some,  and,  after  he  had 
shot  at  cakes  of  ice  for  awhile,  he  asked  me  to 
give  him  five  cartridges  for  his  re^Deating  rifle. 
This  I  refused  to  do,  though  I  offered  to  trade. 
It  was  quite  noticeable  that  he  and  some  of  his 
followers  were  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 

"The  chief  was  about  six  feet  live  inches  tall, 
by  far  the  most  powerful  native  we  had  ever 
seen.  I  knew  that  he  was  a  murderous  villain, 
and  that  his  followers  would  do  just  what  he 
told  them  to.  This,  in  addition  to  the  indica- 
tions of  liquor,  put  me  on  my  guard.     Mean- 


144  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

time,  two  otlier  canoe-loads  came  aboard,  and 
with  them  was  the  chief  that  stood  next  in 
authority.  All  began  to  ask  for  rum,  but  I  told 
them  that  I  had  none.  They  said  that  they 
knew  I  had,  for  all  ships  with  two  masts  had  it. 

"One  fellow,  apparently  accidentally,  fell 
overboard,  and  though  a  canoe  was  towing 
astern,  the  chief  wanted  me  to  lower  a  boat  and 
rescue  him.  I  said  no.  He  then  asked  me  to  ^o 
into  the  cabin.  Again  I  said  no.  At  this,  he 
grasped  me  by  the  throat,  but  when  I  drew  a 
revolver,  he  let  go,  and  stepping  off,  smiled  as 
though  it  was  a  joke.  Things  indicated  that 
there  was  to  be  trouble,  so  I  stationed  two  men 
near  me,  each  armed  with  a  hand-spike.  There 
was  not  a  breath  of  air  stirring,  yet  I  ordered 
the  anchor  hove  up.  When  the  crew  attempted 
to  execute  the  order,  the  natives  stopped  them. 
Then  the  chief  sent  his  wife  with  tlie  other 
women  and  old  men  into  the  canoe.  This  meant 
a  fuss.  He  then  seized  me  again  by  tlie  throat, 
and  I  told  one  of  the  men  to  tap  him  on  the 
head  with  a  hand-spike.     The  tap  killed  him. 

"The  other  natives  were  on  the  main  deck, 
and  suddenly  each  drew  a  single-barreled  muz- 
zle-loading pistol  and  began  to  shoot  and  chase 


THE   XAKOORUKS.  14.1i 

the  crew  about.  Prompt  action  was  necessary, 
I  knocked  over  the  other  chief  with  my 
revolver  afid  called  for  my  rifle.  After  the 
natives  had  emptied  their  pistols  they  resorted 
to  big  knives  and  stabbed  one  sailor  in  the  back. 
I  stood  ready,  and  Avhenever  I  saw  a  native  raise 
his  knife  I  shot  him.  They  had  not  expectexl 
this,  and,  balked  in  their  attempt  to  take  the 
vessel,  they  endeavored  to  escap?.  But  their 
canoes  had  got  adrift.'  A  light  breeze  sprang 
uj),  and  heaving  anchor,  we  got  under  way. 
Their  one  desire  seemed  to  be  to  conceal  them- 
selves, and  all  crawled  under  the  t' gallant  fore- 
castle. I  intended  to  take  the  survivors 
prisoners,  carry  them  to  the  Siberian  shore  and 
land  them,  for  they  had  been  punished  enough, 
but  the  instant  I  laid  down  my  rifle,  they  tried 
to  use  their  knives  on  me.  Seeing  no  other 
alternative,  I  posted  men  above  them,  and 
when  a  native  showed  his  head,  he  was  clubbed 
and  thrown  overboard.  Toward  the  last  we 
hauled  them  out  with  gaff  hooks.  The  three 
canoes  had  contained  about  twenty  Avarriors, 
but  not  one  of  them  had  escaped.  Afterward 
I  learned  that  these  same  men  had  looted  Ca])- 
tain  Jacobson's  schooner  a  week  before,  and 

10 


146  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND    SIBERIA. 

tried  to  take  Captain  Raven's  brig.  Tliey  had 
also  endeavored  to  take  possession  of  two  other 
ships. 

"I  had  two  Siberian  natives  in  my  crew,  and 
when  we  got  back  to  East  Cape  they  spread  the 
news  of  the  affair,  and  by  the  next  season  the 
affair  was  known  to  all  natives  on  both  shores. 
No  attempt  to  take  a  vessel  has  been  made  since. 
I  had  one  man  killed.  Two  others  were  cut, 
but  not  seriously  so." 

In  Kotzebue  Sound  is  another  settlement. 
It  is  on  the  end  of  the  sand-spit  at  the  entrance 
to  Hotham  Inlet,  and  consists  of  perhaps  a 
dozen  igaloos.  In  summer,  however,  it  is  a 
great  meeting  place  for  the  natives  of  all  the 
country  about,  even  as  far  as  Point  Hope,  the 
Diomedes,  and  Port  Clarence.  Here  they 
exchange  trade,  gossip,  etc.,  and  do  more  or 
less  fishing. 

Point  IIoi)e  is  the  next  settlement,  thougli 
there  are  a  few  scattered  igaloos  between.  The 
sand-spit,  on  the  end  of  wliich  it  is  situated, 
juts  boldly  out  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  There 
are  twenty-five  or  thirty  inhabited  igaloos  and 
four  or  five  that  are  in  ruins  or  deserted. 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  147 

Three  miles  above  Cape  Lisburne  is  a  collec- 
tion of  half  a  dozen,  or  so,  igaloos,  and  each  will 
average  five  or  six  families.  Usually  an  igaloo 
is  not  much  over  twelve  feet  square,  but  these 
are  about  twenty. 

Eight  igaloos,  some  of  them  very  small,  are 
situated  fifteen  miles  below  Point  Lay,  while 
at  the  Point  itself  are  four  igaloos.  The 
natives  here  spend  a  greater  jDait  of  their  time 
inland,  or  elsewhere,  hunting,  and  their  habi- 
tations are  occupied  only  a  short  time  during 
the  year. 

Half  way  to  Icy  Cape  is  a  settlement  of  a 
dozen  igaloos  on  the  inside  of  the  lagoon.  The 
Cnjje  is  a  siimmer  trading  station,  but  there  is 
not  an  igaloo  nearer  than  this  settlement  below, 
or  one  fifteen  miles  above,  where  there  is  a  col- 
lection of  a  dozen  or  fifteen.  These  are  either 
deserted  or  verj^  little  used. 

Twenty -five  miles  below  Wainwright  Inlet 
are  lifteen  to  eighteen  igaloos,  and  on  the 
shores  of  the  inlet,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  its 
mouth,  are  a  dozen  or  so. 

The  twenty  or  more  igaloos  at  Point  Belcher 
are  all  occupied,  but  at  Point  Franklin,  just 
above,  are  two  deserted  settlements  of  a  dozen 


148  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBKKIA. 

or  fifteen  huts  each;  one  is  about  six  miles  from 
the  Point,  the  other  ten  miles  farther  north. 
These  habitations  are  all  tumbled  in.  The 
natives  do  not  know  how  long  these  settlements 
have  been  deserted,  their  conception  of  time  is 
too  vague,  but  Caj^tain  Owen  thinks  two  huts 
were  occupied  in  1877,  for  he  remembers  going 
ashore  to  t]"ade.  Probably  the  decay  of  these 
settlements  dates  from  the  great  wreck  sea- 
son. ISTot  only  were  many  natives  poisoned  by 
drinking  the  contents  of  the  medicine  chests 
at  that  time,  but  many  more  moved  away 
out  of  superstitious  fear.  The  population  lif^re 
has  been  reduced  at  least  one-half  in  twenty 
years. 

The  next  settlement  is  at  Cape  Smyth,  where 
there  are  perhaps  thirty  igaloos,  though  many 
are  not  inhabitable,  and  at  Point  Barrow  are 
still  fewer;  but  in  the  former  are  thirty- two 
families,  while  in  the  latter  are  thirty-six,  and 
a  considerably  largcu-  population.  Four  huts 
at  the  Point  are  occupied  by  one  family  each, 
leaving  close  quarters  for  the  remaining  twenty- 
eight  families,  particularly  as  the  huts  there 
are  smaller  than  those  at  the  Cape.  Back  of 
Point  Barrow  is  a  deserted  settlement  of  fifteen 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  149 

or  more  igaloos.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  there 
aite  believed  to  have  died  off,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  remnant  moved  to  the  Point.  It  is 
only  recently  that  this  abandonment  took  place, 
for  when  whalemen  first  visited  Point  Barrow 
there  were  four  hundred  or  more  natives  there. 
Between  the  Cape  and  the  Point  is  another 
summer  trading  place,  called  the  ' '  Shooting 
Station,"  from  the  many  ducks  that  fly  there. 
This  summer  it  was  very  flourishing,  having  at 
least  seventy  toopicks  at  one  time.  Families 
came  a  hundred  miles  or  more,  and  among 
them  were  several  who  had  never  seen  white 
men  before. 

About  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
east  of  Point  Barrow  is  another  of  these 
trading  places,  and  two-thirds  of  the  waj^  to 
the  Mackenzie  River  is  Barter  Island.  How 
large  or  important  a  place  this  is  can  only 
be  guessed  at,  for  it  has  not  been  visited  by 
white  men  since  the  days  of  Sir  John  Franldin. 
There  are  no  permanent  settlements  known  east 
of  Point  Barrow  until  the  Mackenzie  River  is 
reached. 

Each  Eskimo  householder  is  an  independent 
sovereign,  and  free  to  go  as  he  pleases.     There 


150  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AND   SIBERIA. 

is  no  law,  no  chief,  no  tribunal,  or  other  power 
to  hold  or  command  him;  but  he  instinctively 
observes  the  rule  of  doing  as  he  would  be  done 
by.  There  is  no  ownershij)  in  land,  hence  each 
household  is  a  commune  in  itself.  Jealousy  of 
each  other  is  the  only  tie  that  keeps  the  settle- 
ments intact  and  equal.  Orphan  children  are 
always  adopted  into  other  families,  and  treated 
as  natural  offspring.  As  a  general  rule,  every- 
thing is  peace  and  harmony,  not  only  between 
the  settlements,  but  between  the  households. 
Such  civilized  evils  as  tobacco  or  whisky  lead 
to  quaiTels,  and,  at  rare  intervals,  a  jealous  or 
quarrelsome  woman  is  believed  to  need  toning 
down  with  a  few  blows.  Murder  leads  to  a 
feud  between  the  families  of  the  principals, 
and  may  be  handed  down  from  father  to  son 
until  the  immediate  families  are  botli  all  mur- 
dered off  for  the  sake  of  revenge. 

Most  naturally,  every  settlement  has  its  lead- 
ing spirit,  and  it  is  always  he  of  tlie  largest 
property.  He  holds  his  position  because  he 
has  in  his  employ,  and  under  his  protection,  a 
larger  number  of  men  than  any  other  person. 
But  should  he  have  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
propert}^  through  famine,  poor  trade,  or  exces- 


THE   NAKOOKUKS.  151 

sive  doctor'' s  bills,  he  forfeits  his  i)osition. 
Keewuck  is  the  best  trader  at  Point  Belcher; 
Mung-gi  and  Unggeroo  are  j)rominent  whale- 
men at  Cape  Smyth.  Unalena  takes  the  lead 
at  Point  Barrow,  though  Ap-i-yau  is  an  expert 
whaleman.  Point  Hope  also  has  its  expert 
tradesman,  trader,  and  whalemen.  For  the  sake 
of  a  name  whalemen  call  these  men  ' '  chiefs. ' ' 
The  habitation  of  the  Nakooruk  differs  from 
that  of  the  other  Eskimo.  Instead  of  being  a 
skin  or  a  snow  hut,  it  is  a  hole  dug  in  the 
ground  and  roofed  over.  It  is  called  an  igaloo. 
It  is  usually  about  seven  or  eight  feet  deep, 
and  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  square.  Logs  of 
driftwood  form  the  frame-work  to  keep  the 
sides  from  caving  in,  and  logs  are  also  laid 
down  to  form  the  floor.  The  roof  is  either  of 
wood  or  the  jaw-bones  of  the  whale,  over  which 
is  stretched  a  covering  of  hide,  protected  by  a 
thick  covering  of  sods.  The  ''eaves''  are  just 
above  the  ground,  and  the  center  is  a  little 
liigher  still.  A  window  of  a  yard  or  so  square 
is  cut  out  in  the  middle  of  the  roof,  and  strips 
from  the  intestines  of  animals  are  sewed  to- 
gether as  a  substitute  for  glass.  A  small 
wooden  pipe  serves  to  carry  off  some  of  the 


152  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND    SIBERIA. 

smoke  and  foul  air.  When  more  ventilation 
becomes  necessary,  the  women  use  fans  of 
geese  wings,  or  other  material,  and  force  fresh 
air  from  the  outside  entrance  through  the 
room. 

Beginning  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  oJff,  a  trench 
is  dug  toward  the  hut,  reaching  the  depth  of  a 
yard  below  the  level  of  the  floor.  This  is 
roofed  over,  except  at  the  outer  end,  whicli 
serves  as  the  entrance.  About  a  yard  from  the 
wall  within  the  hut,  is  an  oval  hole  in  the  floor 
about  three  feet  long,  so  that,  to  enter  the  hut, 
one  goes  through  this  trench,  then  stoops  down 
and  crawls  up  through  this  hole.  At  the  out- 
side of  this  entrance  is  a  cover  to  keep  out  the 
snow  and  wind.  Then  there  is  a  shifting  board 
to  regulate  the  draft.  An  igaloo  usually  con- 
tains two  families,  sometimes  three,  but  seldom 
only  one.  The  families  are  not  necessarily 
related,  but  congenial  to  each  other,  so  that 
they  travel  and  hunt  together.  An  api^roxi- 
mate  average  to  an  igaloo  would  be  ten  persons. 
The  owner  of  the  abode  often  has  sleeping 
accommodations  for  himself  and  wife  in  the 
entrance-Avay,  but  his  children  sleep  inside  with 
the  other  occupants. 


TUK  MOST  NORTHKKN   HAIUI'ATION  OK  NORTH  AMKRICA-ragi.-  US. 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  153 

Extending  across  the  opposite  side  of  the 
room  from  the  entrance  hole,  is  a  platform 
raised  a  yard  from  the  floor.  The  top  of  this 
is  used  as  a  sort  of  sitting-room,  and  for  extra 
sleeping  accommodations.  The  occui^ants  of 
the  hut  sleep  underneath  it  on  the  floor.  On  the 
outside  comes  the  man,  then  comes  his  wile, 
beyond  are  the  children,  ranged  according  to 
size,  the  youngest  being  next  the  wife.  It  is 
seldom  that  a  famil}^  numbers  over  five  chil- 
dren. Deer-skin  blankets  serve  as  bedding, 
and  after  stowing  themselves  away  between 
these  —  the  hair  sides  being  together  —  the 
natives  remove  all  the  clothing  worn  during 
the  day. 

Every  igaloo  has  its  "stove"  or  "lamp," 
sometimes  two  or  more,  which  stands  in  the 
corner  or  at  one  side  of  the  room.  LamjDS  were 
formerl}'  made  of  stone,  but  wood  is  much  used 
now.  They  are  crescent -shaped  on  top  and 
perhaps  three  feet  from  point  to  point.  Tliej'- 
are  scooped  out  on  top  an  inch  and  a  half  or  so, 
to  hold  the  oil;  fuel-moss  is  placed  around  the 
edge,  the  roots  running  down  into  the  oil,  thus 
serving  as  a  wick.  When  this  moss  is  lighted, 
it  slowly  tries  the  oil  out  of  a  piece  of  blubber 


154  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

tliat  hangs  the  proper  distance  above,  thus 
replenishing  the  oil  that  is  burned.  The  quan- 
tity of  tire  is  graded  by  the  amount  of  moss 
used. 

Generally,  the  richer  the  man,  the  better  his 
igaloo.  He  may  not  only  have  a  larger  one 
than  the  average,  but  a  better  entrance -way, 
with  perhaps  a  store-room  or  kitchen  opening 
into  it. 

When  returning  to  his  winter  hut  after  the 
summer  season,  the  native  goes  about  cutting 
a  small  chip  off  every  piece  of  timber  and 
board  that  can  be  reached  easily.  The  signifi- 
cance of  this  is  i^robably  to  break  whatever 
spell  the  devil  may  have  cast  over  the  abode 
during  the  absence  of  its  occupants.  When 
deserted  in  the  spring,  the  window  is  broken  in, 
the  entrance -way '  blocked  up,  and  rubbish 
thrown  in,  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  having 
been  abandoned,  probably  to  throw  the  devil 
off  the  scent. 

Back  from  the  sea-coast  the  natives  do  not 
build  igaloos.  When  intending  to  remain  in 
one  place  any  length  of  time  in  winter,  they 
usually  build  a  snow  hut.  At  all  other  times 
a  portable  deer-skin  tent  serves  for  protection 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  155 

and  deer- skin  blankets,  instead  of  bags,  for 
bedding. 

During  the  summer  the  Nakooruk  household 
lives  in  a  toopick,  or  tent,  made  of  sail-cloth, 
though  in  exceptional  cases,  of  skins.  It  is 
pitched  near  the  winter  abode,  except  when  off 
hunting  or  on  other  expeditions.  In  some 
instances  I  have  seen  the  canoe  turned  up  and 
used  temporarily  to  live  under. 

It  is  a  severe  ordeal  for  native  babies  to  get 
into  the  world  and  survive  the  first  few  months, 
but  when  they  once  get  a  grip  on  life  their  lot 
is  a  comparatively  happy  one.  A  woman  in 
childbirth  is  put  off  apart  from  everybody  else 
in  a  little  shantj^,  and  left  for  fate  to  decide 
whether  she  shall  be  safely  delivered,  or,  not 
only  her  own,  but  the  child's  life  be  sacri- 
ficed. This  is  the  ordeal,  whether  it  be  winter 
or  summer.  Old  women  acts  as  nurses  and  see 
that  food  is  jjlaced  within  reach  of  the  patient. 
There  their  attentions  usually  cease.  When 
the  babe  begins  to  show  signs  of  life  the  old 
women  take  it  in  hand,  roll  it  in  the  mud,  or 
snow,  according  to  whether  it  be  winter  or 
summer,  then  leave  it  there  all  naked  for  an 
hour  or  two  to  kick  about  and  provide  amuse- 


1.36  AECTIC   ALASKA   AN=D   SIBERIA. 

ment  for  the  dogs.  This  is  nndoiihtedly 
intended  for  an  acclimating  process.  They 
then  give  vent  to  howling  and  chanting  to 
drive  away  evil  spirits  that  may  be  born  with 
it,  or  that  threaten  it.  Even  when  the  child 
survives  this  ordeal,  it  is  not  fully  initiated 
into  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Nakooruk 
existence,  for  it  may  next  be  sewed  up  in  a 
skin  bag  of  the  blouse  and  trowsers  pattern, 
with  only  its  head  sticking  out.  I  saw  one 
child  two  months  old  dressed  only  in  a  hood 
and  much  abbreviated  shirt,  both  of  squirrel- 
skin.  At  times  it  would  be  stowed  snugly  away 
in  its  mother's  gown,  but  again,  she  would  lay 
it  in  her  lap. 

There  is  no  cradle  for  the  baby  to  be  rocked 
in,  nor  rattle  to  attract  its  attention.  When 
the  cry  comes,  the  mother,  or  some  other 
woman,  will  take  the  child  on  her  back,  carry 
it  out  into  the  breeze,  and  let  it  face  that  for 
a  while  (for  the  Nakooruk  child  looks  over  its 
mother's  shoulder,  instead  of  being  carried 
back  to  back  as  is  the  case  with  the  American 
Indians).  If  the  north  wind  does  not  happen 
to  blow  a  chilly  gale,  so  as  to  freeze  the  child's 
cry,  a  few  pokes  in  the  back  induce  gentle 
slumbers. 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  167 

As  soon  as  the  child  is  able  to  sit  up,  its 
schooling  begins.  The  mother  sits  on  the  floor, 
with  her  feet  out  before  her  to  brace  the  baby 
against  them,  then  teaches  it  to  swing  its  arms 
in  all  directions,  particularly  over  its  head. 
Then  follow  lessons  in  the  native  chanting, 
dancing,  etc.  Nursing  is  kept  up  for  several 
years.  To  see  a  child  five  or  six  years  old 
nursing  is  a  common  occurrence.  In  the  case 
of  favorite  children,  they  are  nursed  until  they 
are  perlmps  ten  years  old. 

When  a  girl  is  ten  or  twelve  years  old  a  nar- 
row blue  line  is  tattooed  from  the  lip  down  the 
face  of  her  chin,  and  as  she  grows  older  the 
line  is  broadened,  and  ultimatelj^  in  most  cases, 
a  narrow  line  is  added  each  side  of  the  broad 
one.  At  about  the  same  age  the  lips  of  the 
boys  are  pierced.  A  small  ivory  button,  or 
labret,  is  worn  just  below  each  corner  of 
his  mouth,  and  the  hole  is  gradually  enlarged, 
so  that  by  the  time  he  is  grown  up  it  is  plenty 
large  enough  to  put  the  end  of  his  little  finger 
through. 

There  is  but  one  system  of  doctoring  sick 
children.  The  medicine  man  puts  on  a  most 
horrible  black  mask,  then  goes  into  the  presence 


158  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

of  the  child  and  chants  and  howls  in  his  most 
unearthly  tones.  This  over,  he  goes  outside 
and  walks  around  and  around  the  hut,  still 
chanting  and  beating  the  drum  to  drive  off  the 
evil  spirits.  The  drums  that  I  heard  sounded 
about  as  musical  as  the  so-called  "devil's 
fiddle"  (a  tin  can  with  a  resined  string  in  the 
bottom  of  it). 

In  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  children 
come  into  the  world  fast,  many  women  having 
a  child  every  summer.  Lung  troubles  are  very 
prevalent,  being  caused  by  the  sudden  changes 
in  going  from  the  hot  igaloo  into  the  intense 
cold.  But  j)robably  the  severest  part  of  the 
Nakooruk's  ordeal  in  getting  himself  into  the 
proper  attitude  to  exist,  is  to  accustom  his 
stomach  to  meat  that  is  putrid,  frozen,  raw, 
boiling  hot,  or  in  some  other  condition,  as  he 
eats  not  only  a  safliciency,  but  probably  to 
excess  at  all  times.  The  long  period  of  nursing 
is  undoubtedly  necessary  to  accustom  the  child 
to  a  steady  meat  diet. 

Children  are  very  much  doted  on,  never 
refused  anything,  never  whipped,  never  repri- 
manded. Consequently,  they  have  no  cause 
for  fear,  or  decej^tion,   and  grow  u})  without 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  169 

knowing  how  to  steal  or  lie.  There  are  in- 
stances in  which  traders  have  left  their  sleds 
unguarded  for  days  in  a  settlement,  and  not 
missed  anything,  though  there  was  a  large 
stock  of  articles  which  natives  covet  most. 
Where  there  is  much  intercourse  with  the  white 
men,  some  of  the  natives  do  steal,  but  they  get 
the  credit  sometimes  of  stealing,  when  the 
crime  is  committed  by  some  sailor,  and  the 
article  traded  to  the  native. 

Before  a  mo: her  eats,  she  will  first  offer  the 
food  to  her  child,  i3erhai)s  touching  its  lips 
with  it.  If  the  child  is  out  of  doors,  the  mother 
will  often  leave  the  hut,  and  go  through  this 
ceremony,  before  partaking  of  food.  Old 
women  consider  it  a  duty  to  criticise  each  child 
very  carefully,  and  compare  its  points  with 
those  of  oilier  children. 

Life  seems  solely  for  personal  gratification. 
This  is  shown  in  the  looseness  of  what  might 
be  called  the  marriage  relation.  A  man  may 
live  with  most  of  the  marriageable  women  of 
the  settlement  before  taking  one  to  wife,  and 
even  then,  it  may  not  be  for  good,  as  she  may 
conclude  after  awhile  to  live  witli  another  man. 
There  appears  to  be  very  little  appreciation  of 


160  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND    SIBERIA. 

virtue  or  morality  in  either  sex.  If  a  man  is 
going  off  on  a  journey,  and  liis  wife  is  not  able 
to  accompany  him,  he  borrows  from  his  neigh- 
bor, and  returns  her  when  the  journey  is  ended. 
Should  a  child  result  from  this  borrowing,  there 
is  no  scandal,  but  a  relationship  exists  thence- 
forth between  the  two  families  as  though  they 
had  a  common  ancestor.  A  man  or  a  woman 
with  children  is  more  marriageable  than  one 
who  is  childless,  for  every  child  means  so  much 
help  to  keep  the  spark  of  life  aglow.  No  ques- 
tions are  asked  as  to  the  j)arentage  of  children. 
Men  and  women  both  enter  into  so  many  mat- 
rimonial ventures  that  such  inquiry  would  be 
useless.  There  may  be  children  in  the  family 
that  are  not  in  any  way  related  to  their  sup- 
posed parents. 

The  Nakooruk  probably  does  not  exist  who 
has  not  been  married.  In  exceptional  cases, 
a  man  may  have  two  or  three  wives,  not  because 
he  has  property,  and  can  afford  to  support 
them — for  the  women  frequently  sui)port  the 
men — but  because  he  can  control  them  and 
keep  them  from  lighting.  Many  men  do  not 
take  a  second  wife  because  one  proves  too 
much  to  subdue.     Far  up  the  coast,  polygamy 


■  I 

I  > 
c 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  161 

is  but  little  practiced.  Only  one  man  at  Point 
Barrow  has  two  wives,  while  at  Cape  Smyth 
all  the  men  are  monogamists.  The  chief  at 
Point  Hoi)e,  At-timg-aw-rah,  has  five  wives, 
and  is  probably  the  most  married  man  on  the 
coast.  In  cases  of  polygamy,  the  children 
belong  equally  to  all  the  wives,  and  should  two 
wives  have  children  about  the  same  time,  they 
nurse  either  one,  whether  it  be  their  own  or 
not.  The  great  terror  in  many  families  is  the 
mother-in-law.  She  may  drive  a  man  into 
abandoning  his  wife,  or  the  wife  may  be  driven 
off  by  the  husband's  mother.  One  medicine 
man  told  me  that  the  only  patient  he  had  cured 
in  a  long  time  was  his  mother-in-law,  but  the 
cure  was  not  lasting,  and  he  was  so  astonished 
at  his  own  skill,  that  he  declined  his  services 
the  next  time  she  required  them,  consequently 
she  died.  "Yes,  she  die.  Me  glad.  Me  no 
care,"  said  he. 

When  a  man  wants  a  wife,  he  goes  to  the 
parents  of  the  girl  he  wishes  to  marry,  and  if 
they  are  agreeable  to  the  match,  she  has  to  go 
whether  she  wants  to  or  not.  Tliey  live  together 
possibly  the  rest  of  their  lives,  but  more  prob- 
ably he  will  get  tired  of  her,  and  desert  her  so 
11 


162  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

as  to  take  another  woman  that  he  thinks  he 
likes  better.  Perhaps,  however,  the  wife  may- 
leave  him.  If  a  girl  has  no  j)arents,  she  con- 
tracts whatever  matrimonial  alliances  she  likes. 
All  is  not  a  sober  strnggie  for  existence,  as 
games  are  i^revalent,  and  much  indulged  in. 
Foot-ball  is  played  with  a  bag  stuffed  with 
hair.  ' '  Tag ' '  is  the  same  game  the  world  over. 
Children  are  fond  of  "teetering,"  standing 
upon  the  end  of  the  plank  instead  of  sitting 
down.  Another  amusement,  which  requires 
skill,  is  tossing  up  in  a  blanket.  A  walrus- 
hide  is  used,  and  the  contest  of  skill  is  to  see 
who  can  stand  on  his  feet  and  be  tossed  into 
the  air  the  highest.  Small  children  have  min- 
iatiire  sleds  which  they  load  with  mice-skins, 
and  all  sorts  of  trinkets,  so  as  to  play  trader. 
Boys  practice  archery.  Of  course,  they  slide 
down  hill,  but  the  sled  is  the  seat  of  a  stout 
pair  of  deer-skin  trousers.  Athletics  are  also 
much  indulged  in.  One  difficult  feat  is  to 
walk  on  the  bands,  the  legs  being  outside  *of 
the  arms,  and  held  straight  out  in  front,  paral- 
lel with  the  ground.  Lifting  matches  are  fre- 
quent, but  very  few  natives  are  as  strong  as  the 
average  white  man.     Hurling  the  spear  is  also 


THE   :xAK<KJKUKS.  ](hi 

practiced,  and  small  darts  guided  by  goose 
feathers  are  thrown  with  great  accuracy,  often 
hitting  a  mark  at  thirty  feet.  The  faculty  to 
throw  a  stone,  either  with  a  sling  or  by  hand, 
is  innate  in  every  boy.  In  fact,  the  festive  small 
boy  is  the  same  the  world  over. 

Girls  play  with  dolls  carved  out  of  ivory-, 
which  they  dress  up  after  their  own  fashion, 
in  clothing  of  ermine,  mice,  or  other  skins. 
One  of  their  games  is  to  kick  a  ball  of  ice  or 
snow  about  the  size  of  a  base-ball,  the  object 
being  to  keep  it  in  the  air  all  the  time  without 
touching  it  with  their  hands.  They  also  toss 
pebbles  very  skilfully,  some  being  able  to  keep 
six  or  seven  in  the  air  at  a  time,  with  one  hand. 
They  frequently  wear  bracelets  of.  sinew,  on 
which  are  strung  bits  of  iron,  brass,  or  any- 
thing that  will  jingle.  Stones  are  tossed  in  the 
air,  the  hands  crossing  each  other  between  the 
tosses,  jingling  the  bracelets,  keei^ing  time  and 
accompanying  the  play  with  a  sort  of  chant. 

Many  young  girls  do  nice  sewing.  At  Port 
Clarence  they  make  bags  of  squirrel,  seal, 
ermine  and  other  skins  to  trade  with  the  ships. 
It  falls  to  the  girls  to  care  for  the  young  orphan 
pups,  and  as  a  substitute  for   nursing,  they 


164  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

will  chew  up  seal  or  other  meat,  then  pucker 
their  lips,  and  let  the  dog  suck  them  to  get  the 
meat. 

Even  the  women  have  a  game  to  resort  to 
occasionally  to  vary  the  monotony  of  drudgery. 
They  lock  elbows,  or  fingers,  then  place  their 
feet  against  each  other' s  shoulders  and  pull  to 
test  their  strength. 

Old  and  young,  male  and  female,  are  passion- 
ately fond  of  cards,  and  are  inveterate  players. 
Their  chief  game  is  a  corruption  of  "  Russian 
seven-up."  They  also  play  an  imitation  of 
poker.  No  game  is  played  without  stakes, 
which  usually  consist  of  a  bead,  match,  chew 
of  tobacco,  or  the  like.  If  sides  are  played  and 
a  partner  is  lacking,  a  baby  is  pressed  into  serv- 
ice, the  partner  doing  the  playing  for  the  child. 

Time  is  reckoned  by  winters,  moons  and 
sleeps.  In  winter,  habits  are  regular,  hence 
account  of  time  is  easily  kept;  but  in  summer, 
when  wandering  about,  and  sleeping  whenever 
and  wherever  the  inclination  wills,  it  is  difficult 
to  keep  the  sleeps.  A  record  is  kept  on  the 
rafters  to  the  roofs  in  the  huts,  which  shows 
the  age  of  the  structure,  a  peg  being  driven  in 
to  represent  each  winter,  or  possibly  a  notch  cut. 


THE  NAK00RUK8.  166 

Just  what  the  Nakooruks  worship  is  very- 
difficult  to  discover,  for  they  are  very  jealous 
and  superstitious  about  such  matters.  Good 
and  bad  spirits  are  believed  in,  though  very 
little  regard,  apparently,  seems  to  be  paid  to 
the  former.  Sickness  is  caused  by  evil  spirits 
getting  possession  of  a  person.  These  evil 
spirits,  or  the  devil — for  there  seems  to  be  no 
difference  between  them — may  infect  anything. 
If  a  man  goes  hunting  and  makes  poor  shots, 
the  devil  is  believed  to  have  cast  his  spell  over 
the  rifle,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  resort  to 
chanting  and  its  accompaniments  to  restore 
the  rifle  to  good  shooting  condition.  The 
devil  is  never  visible,  but  is  heard  in  every 
susi^icious  noise  or  place,  hence  he  is  greatly 
feared.  He  is  called  Toonook,  which  means 
something  like  "spirit  of  death."  He  is 
believed  to  be  the  spirit  of  some  being  or  ani- 
mal that  formerly  lived.  The  good  spirit  is 
called  Kelligabuk,  which  means  mastodon.  As 
this  animal  is  venerated  as  a  sort  of  "  god  of  the 
hunting  grounds,"  it  is  suggested  that  the  lip 
ornaments  are  worn  as  an  imitation  of  its  tusks. 
A  future  existence  is  believed  in,  in  which 
every  one  will  be  happy,  successful  in  the  hunt. 


166  AECTIC  ALASKA  AND  SIBEEIA. 

and  have  plenty  to  eat,  which  inchides  a  goodly 
supply  of  tobacco  and,  with  many,  not  too  short 
a  supply  of  liquor.  Turquois  beads  are  much 
worn  as  a  guard  against  the  evil  spirits.  Where 
the  beads  came  from  the  natives  themselves  do 
not  know,  neither  do  they  know  where  the 
charm  comes  in,  but  the  custom  has  come 
down  from  one  generation  to  another  and  the 
bead  continues  to  serve  the  same  purpose. 
Being  scarce,  these  beads  are  the  best  of  trade. 
The  existence  of  witches  and  ghosts  is  thor- 
oughly believed  in,  and  their  presence  is  con- 
tinually guarded  against,  especially  when  a 
death  occurs.  On  such  occasions  windows  and 
doors  are  all  religiously  closed,  to  shut  out 
these  intruders  and  j)erhaps  to  keep  out  that 
greater  terror,  the  devil. 

Just  before  the  ice  breaks  up  in  the  spring,  or 
before  the  deer  begin  to  run,  or  before  any  such 
annual  event  which  plays  an  important  part  in 
their  existence,  the  Eskimo  beat  drums,  and 
go  through  incantations,  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  event,  and  the  ceremony  gets  the 
credit  for  what  nature's  yearly  routine  invari- 
ably brings  to  pass. 

The  extent  to  which  their  superstition  goes 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  167 

is  well  illustrated  by  a  horrible  ceremony  wit- 
nessed by  a  white  man  at  Point  Hope  in  May, 
1885.  Several  crews  of  natives  had  been  off 
wlialing,  and  when  they  returned  it  was  learned 
that  a  woman  had  died  during  their  absence. 
This  led  them  to  fear  that  they  would  not  get 
another  whale  until  the  dead  woman's  heart 
was  cut  out,  rolled  up  in  a  seal-skin  and 
thrown  into  the  sea.  Three  old  women  were 
appointed  to  the  task  of  performing  this  cere- 
mony. They  blackened  their  faces  about  their 
eyes,  made  a  black  mark  across  their  foreheads 
and  one  down  each  cheek,  probably  to  conceal 
their  identity,  then  went  to  work.  The  body 
was  laid  out,  and,  with  stone  knives,  two  gashes 
were  cut,  one  across  the  j)it  of  the  stomach, 
and  the  other  at  right  angles,  crossing  it  at  the 
center.  The  four  corners  were  then  i)inned 
back  with  sticks,  and  with  a  forked  stick  the 
heart  was  reached,  cut  out,  and  carefully  rolled 
up  in  seal-skin.  Great  care  was  taken  not  to 
allow  the  fingers  to  touch  the  heart  or  the 
body.  With  the  heart  thus  secured,  they 
marched  solemnly  in  single  file  over  the 
ice  and  out  to  the  water,  chanting  all  the 
while.    Then  they  threw  the  heart  into  the  sea. 


168  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

As  the  wliole  oj)eratioii  had  been  satisfactorily 
performed,  the  men  manned  their  canoes  the 
next  day,  and,  unfortunately,  returned  at  night 
with  a  whale,  thus  strengthening  their  belief 
in  the  efficacy  of  the  ceremony. 

The  men  are  stoics  when  in  j)ain  or  trouble, 
never  giving  up  to  their  feelings,  whatever  may 
befall  them,  or  whatever  predicament  they  may 
be  in.  The  same  spirit  is  shown  in  keeping  an 
agreement.  When  a  native  gives  his  word  he 
keeps  it  if  it  is  in  his  power  to  do  so.  The 
women,  on  the  other  hand,  give  up  at  the  least 
discouragement,  and  give  vent  to  most  pitiful 
howls  and  groans,  and  perhaps  have  hysterics. 

Medicine  men  often  hand  their  vocation  down 
to  their  sons,  all  usually  practicing  it.  When 
called  in  case  of  sickness,  the  medicine  man  sets 
himself  axoart  from  the  patient  to  chant,  howl, 
and  otherwise  get  himself  into  the  proper  state 
of  mind,  also  to  induce  the  friends  of  the  sick 
to  lay  before  him  a  plentiful  supply  of  cloth, 
rifles,  furs,  and  otlier  valuables.  His  mood 
seems  to  be  about  right  when  the  pay  is  suffi- 
cient. He  then  enters  the  presence  of  the 
patient,  chants,  howls,  beats  a  hideous  sounding 
drum,  and  in  other  ways  endeavors  to  drive 


TR-E  NAKOORUrS.  lOd 

away  the  evil  spirit,  or  spirits  that  have  brought 
on  the  illness. 

In  the  midst  of  the  ceremony  he  may  take  a 
short  rest,  partly  to  get  breath,  but  more  par- 
ticularly to  give  the  friends  a  chance  to  increase 
the  fee.  Should  the  patient  die,  the  whole  fee 
must  be  returned,  but  if  the  patient  recovers, 
the  medicine  man  takes  everything  that  was 
placed  before  him.  The  usual  fee  ranges  from 
SIO  to  $20  in  trade.  I  learned  of  one  instance 
where  the  fee  was  nearly  $1,000  worth  of 
trade.  A  rich  family  may  be  reduced  to  the 
verge  of  starvation  in  a  very  short  time  by 
sickness.  Naturally  medicine  men  are  the 
most  prosperous  in  the  settlement.  Shrewd 
young  men  see  "millions  in  it"  and  conse- 
quently go  into  it.  But  the  profession  is 
getting  crowded.  A  prosperous  medicine  man 
refuses  to  take  a  case  unless  recovery  is  prac- 
tically assured,  and  an  aged  or  infirm  person 
may  expect  no  favors  at  his  hands.  But 
frequently  a  young  practitioner  will  take  a 
case  that  has  been  refused  by  some  eminent 
competitor,  and  bring  about  recovery.  His 
reputation  is  then  made. 

The  lot  of  the  aged  is  hard,  and  frequently 


170  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

natural  death  is  anticipated.  If  an  old  hunter 
is  beyond  his  usefulness,  he  may  ask  a  medi- 
cine man,  or  perhai)s  some  personal  friend,  to 
kill  him.  Or,  when  food  is  scarce,  old  people 
are  turned  out  to  starve,  whether  they  are 
anxious  to  die  or  not.  If  turning  these  out 
does  not  suffice,  the  superfluous  women  are 
also  turned  out.  Thus  the  winter  of  ISS^-G 
was  an  unusually  severe  one  at  Point  Hope, 
owing  to  a  shorter  supply  of  food  than  usual. 
A  dreadful  famine  ensued,  and  resulted  in 
not  only  aged  persons  being  cast  out,  but  also 
many  women,  including  plural  wives,  who  did 
not  stand  in  high  favor,  and  their  babes,  being 
turned  out  to  die.  There  has  since  been  a 
scarcity  of  women  there.  During  tliis  famine 
many  dogs  were  eaten,  and  in  some  instances 
the  walrus-hide  coverings  to  canoes  were  cut 
up  and  made  into  soUp.  Old  women  are 
usually  gossips  of  the  worst  type.  The  weight 
of  years  seems  also  to  bring  to  them  unfortu- 
nate habits,  one  x^firticukirly  noticeable  habit 
being  that  of  picking  lice  out  of  the  heads  of 
children,  eating  the  large  ones,  and  putting  the 
others  back  to  fatten. 
The   dead   are   cared  for   according  io    llu' 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  171 

respect  in  which  they  were  held.  The  body 
of  a  favorite  child  might  be  ]?rotected  from 
the  ravages  of  the  dogs  all  winter,  then  buried 
when  the  ground  would  admit..  But  if  the 
child  were  not  a  favorite,  the  body  would  be 
dragged  a  short  distance  from  the  settlement 
and  left  to  the  mercies  of  the  dogs.  This  is 
truKi  of  all  ages,  as  well  as  children.  Effort  is 
made  to  prevent  death  occurring  in  a  hut,  but 
if  it  does  occur,  the  body  is  removed  through 
a  hole  cut  in  the  side  of  the  hut,  which  is 
closed  up  after  the  body  is  removed.  This  is 
probably  done  that  the  spirit  may  not  find  its 
way  back.  In  instances  .of  this  kind  the  hut 
is  frequently  deserted.  The  j)ersonal  property 
of  the  dead,  particularly  hunting-gear,  tobacco, 
and  trade,  is  laid  away  with  the  body,  but 
broken  or  ruined  beyond  further  use.  What- 
ever remains  goes  to  the  relatives.  Every 
member  of  the  family  mourns  for  four  days, 
after  a  death  in  their  midst,  and  no  work  is 
done  except  wLat  is  absolutely  necessary. 
Should  the  family  be  making  a  journey,  this 
custom  will  be  observed  as  closely  as  the  cir- 
cumstances will  allow.  No  member  of  an 
afflicted  family  will  go  into  the  hut  of  another 


172  ARCTIC   ALASKA  AXD   SIBERIA. 

family  until  a  cliange  in  the  moon,  for  fear 
of  communicating  death.  Black  stones,  or 
other  substances,  may  be  put  on  the  ej^es  of 
the  dead,  perhaps  that  the  light  may  not  be 
seen,  or  that  the  dead  spirit  may  be  blinded 
so  far  as  earthly  affairs  are  concerned. 

All  food  is  obtained  by  hunting,  and  along 
the  shore  deer  are  shot  in  considerable  numbers. 
When  winter  is  ushered  in  by  an  easterly  wind, 
the  deer  hurry  inland  to  the  mountains  and 
ravines,  so  that  but  few  are  killed.  At  other 
times  they  wander  along  the  shore,  and  many 
are  killed  and  stowed  away  for  winter  use.  In 
summer  they  migrate  north,  but  as  the  cold 
weather  returns  they  return  south.  Veni- 
son and  fish  form  much  of  tlie  diet  on  the 
coast.  In  the  spring  of  1887,  eleven  whales 
were  caught  at  Point  Barrow,  so  this  much 
additional  food  was  added  to  the  store  for  the 
following  winter.  All  meat  is  dressed  and 
stowed  down  in  caches,  nearly  every  household 
having  a  cache.  A  cache  has  a  small  entrance 
at  the  top,  but  widens  out  to  a  considerable 
space  at  the  bottom,  and  is  ten  feet,  or  so,  deep. 
When  no  whales  are  caught  at  Point  Barrow 
the  natives  are  Ijard  up  for  trade,  for  they 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  173 

lack  ammunition  and  nearly  everything  else. 
One  native  never  gives  to  another  without 
expecting  a  present  in  return,  even  it  be  only  a 
small  piece  of  blubber.  If  the  present  is  not 
forthcoming,  ^particularly  if  a  white  man  be 
concerned,  the  receiver  of  the  gift  is  informed 
of  the  fact  and  told  what  will  be  acceptable  in 
return.  If  too  much  delay  takes  place,  the 
return  of  the  present  may  be  asked  for,  unless, 
unfortunately,  it  be  food  which  may  have  been 
already  digested. 

A  primitive  method  of  catching  deer  is  to 
builcl  a  large  pen,  or  corral,  of  brush,  drive  a 
herd  into  it,  then  kill  as  many  as  possible, 
while  they  are  attempting  to  escape.  When  a 
man  is  hunting  alone,  he  frequently  fastens 
a  slip-noose  of  seal-skin  line  over  a  well-trod- 
den deer  path.  The  deer  gets  his  antlers 
entangled  in  it  and  is  thus  captured  and  killed. 
If  a  native  sees  a  deer  alone,  he  crawls  up  on 
all  fours  until  he  gets  within  rifle  range,  if  he 
can  get  there. 

Another  food  supply  is  the  seal;  in  fact,  this 
is  frequently  the  chief  source  of  food  in  mid- 
winter. There  are  three  methods  of  catching 
seals  besides  shooting.     Sometimes  a  pole,  per- 


174  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

liaps  thirty  feet  long,  that  has  a  sharp  ivoyy  tip, 
is  used.  With  this  in  hand,  the  native  watches 
a  breathing-hole  frequented  by  seals,  and  the 
instant  one  shows  its  head,  it  is  transfixed. 
Sometimes  the  native  turns  seal  himself.  With 
spear,  or  rifle  in  hand,  he  crawls  toward  a 
seal  that  lies  sleeping  on  the  ice.  When  it 
mistrusts  his  presence,  he  scratches  on  the  ice 
with  a  hook  (made  of  wood  in  the  shape  of  a 
turkey's  foot,  and  tipped  with  bear  claws)  in 
imitation  of  the  scratching  of  the  seal' s  flipper. 
Thinking  it  to  be  another  seal,  the  creature 
goes  to  sleep  again.  And  so  the  native  wiggles 
his  way  along,  occasionally  flapping  his  foot 
on  the  ice  in  imitation  of  the  seal's  flippers, 
until  it  is  too  late  for  the  seal  to  discover  the 
deception.  But  there  is  another  method  more 
ingenious  and  original  than  either  of  these.  A 
coarse  meshed  net  of  seal-skin  roping  is 
stretched  under  a  much  frequented  breathing- 
hole.  Being  about  five  feet  wide,  and  extending 
about  a  yard  or  so  beyond  the  hole  at  each  end, 
the  net  makes  it  impossible  for  the  seal  to  dive 
straight  down.  A  seal  always  floats  along 
close  to  the  ice  till  it  reaches  a  hole,  then  it 
rises  and  breathes.     But  instead  of  floating  off 


THE  NAKOOKUKS.  175 

as  it  comes,  it  always  dives  when  through 
breathing,  and  here  is  where  it  makes  the  fatal 
mistake.  By  so  doing,  it  gets  entangled  in 
the  meshes  of  the  net,  and  is  drowned.  In 
this  manner  ten  seals  are  sometimes  cai^tured 
at  one  hole  in  as  many  hours.  Always  when 
bringing  home  a  seal,  the  native  puts  a  dish  of 
water  to  its  lii)s,  lets  a  few  drops  of  water  fall 
on  it,  then  throws  the  water  toward,  or  into, 
the  sea.  The  signihcance  of  this  is  not  known. 
A  few  walruses  are  occasionally  caught  on  the 
Alaskan  shore,  and  they  are  usually  shot, 
though  sometimes  they  are  harpooned  and 
buoyed  up  with  a  poke.  The  Esldmo  is  as 
much  afraid  of  a  walrus  as  he  is  of  a  w^hale. 

When  off  hunting,  or  otherwise  journeying, 
and  the  native  is  cold,  or  wants  to  do  cooking, 
he  gathers  drift-wood  or  other  fuel,  and  after 
getting  it  ready  to  light,  he  builds  a  guard  of 
ice  around  it,  perhaps  square  in  shape,  but 
leaving  one  side  open  to  get  at  the  fire.  This 
"stove"  furnishes  more  heat  than  one  would 
imagine. 

The  Eskimo  usually  begin  their  whaling 
about  the  middle  of  April.  At  the  different 
settlements  the  methods  of  carrying  it  on  vary. 


176  JLECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

At  Point  Hope,  the  poke  method  is  used  ahnost 
entirely.  The  whalemen  watch  along  the  edge 
of  the  ground  or  shore  ice,  and  when  a  whale 
appears,  a  harpoon  with  three  pokes  attached 
is  thrown  into  it.  The  line  to  which  the  pokes 
are  tied  is  only  five  or  ten  fathoms  long. 
Every  time  the  whale  appears,  another  harpoon, 
with  its  three  pokes,  is  throw^n  into  him,  and 
so  on  until  four  or  five  harpoons  have  been 
thrown.  These  are  sufficient  to  buoy  up  an 
average  whale.  Whenever  the  opportunity 
offers,  a  lance,  either  ivory  or  steel  iDointed,  or 
a  blubber-spade,  or  perhaps  a  i^ole  with  a  sharp 
knife  tied  to  the  end,  is  prodded  into  the  whale 
until  it  is  worried  to  death.  All  the  canoes 
now  join  in  towing  the  carcass  ashore,  or  if 
shore  can  not  be  reached,  to  some  convenient 
spot  on  the  ice,  where  it  can  be  cut  in.  Every 
particle  is  saved,  even  to  the  entrails. 

At  Point  Barrow,  the  method  of  whaling  is 
somewhat  different,  owing  to  the  introduction 
of  bomb-lances.  The  whalemen  go  out  on  the 
edge  of  the  floe,  or  ice,  and  scatter  themselves 
in  camps.  Their  canoes  are  held  on  chutes  of 
ice,  and  a  man  is  braced  at  the  head  of  each 
all  day  long.     When  a  whale  happeut^near 


A  FHLL  snTT  OF  HATR 


4 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  177 

enongli,  the  canoe,  man,  and  all,  are  darted  at 
it.  The  harpoon  which  the  man  darts  into  the 
whale  has  .three  pokes  attached  to  it,  and  when 
it  is  made  fast,  tlie  pole,  or  handle,  which  is 
twenty- five  feet,  or  so,  long,  to  which  it  is 
attached,  is  di-awn  out.  The  instant  the  boat 
is  darted,  a  man  on  the  ice  shoots  a  bomb-lance 
into  the  Avhale  with  a  shoulder-gun.  If  this 
does  not  kill,  the  whale  is  worried  to  death  by 
more  bombs,  more  pokes,  and  more  lancing. 
Sometimes  whales  are  bombed  when  no  har- 
poons are  thrown.  Such  carcasses  do  not  float 
usually.  The  harpoons  formerly  used  by  the 
natives  had  flint  heads  set  into  shanks  of  bone 
or  ivory  about  seven  inches  long,  but  now  steel 
is  used,  instead  of  flint,  and  in  many  instances 
the  regulation  steel  harpoons  of  the  whale-ships 
are  used. 

Without  dogs  the  Eskimo  would  be  nearly 
helpless,  consequently  much  attention  is  given 
to  their  breeding.  The  more  wolf  blood,  the 
better  the  dog,  both  for  faithfulness  and 
endurance.  After  long  breeding  the  old  stock 
loses  its  quality.  The  offsijriug  is  lazy,  useless 
for  work,  in  short,  a  common  cur.  To  keep 
up  the  quality,  occasionally  a  young  wolf  is 

1-2 


178  AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

caught  and  reared  to  breed  from.  Wolf  blood 
is  apparent  in  all  the  dogs,  yet  they  are  suscep- 
tible of  much  training.  I  have  seen  a  whole 
team  sleep  in  a  canoe  loaded  with  venison,  per- 
haps some  of  the  dogs  using  it  for  a  pillow, 
yet  not  touch  it.  One  young  dog  that  I 
saw  in  this  position  once  forgot  himself  and 
tasted  the  meat,  bat  I  doubt  if  he  ever  forgot 
himself  again,  or  the  brutal  pounding  that  was 
meted  out  at  that  time.  There  seems  to  be 
much  truth  in  the  remark  one  whaleman  made, 
that  an  Eskimo  will  feed  his  dogs  with  a  kick- 
ing and  clubbing  and  exj^ect  them  to  grow  fat 
on  it. 

The  dogs  sometimes  amuse  themselves  by 
hunting,  usually  in  pairs,  after  ground-squirrel. 
One  will  take  a  ridge  of  land  where  the  holes 
are,  and  the  other  drive  tlie  game  out  of  the 
grass  below.  When  the  squirrel  is  disturbed, 
and  runs  for  his  hole,  the  first  dog  seizes  it  and 
holds  it  until  the  second  dog  comes  up.  They 
each  get  a  good  grip  with  their  teeth,  and  i)ull. 
Something  must  give,  and  each  dog  is  entitled 
to  as  much  as  he  may  succeed  in  getting. 
Should  a  dog  meet  with  an  accident,  such  as 
falling  into  the  water,  another  dog  will  go  to 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  179 

his  assistance,  catch  him  by  the  nape  of  the 
neck,  and  haul  him  out,  if  possible. 

The  Eskimo  are  too  cunning  for  the  sly  fox. 
A  simple  trap  is  the  slip-noose  plan.  After 
digging  a  hole  in  the  snow,  perhaps  a  foot  and  a 
half  deep,  bait  is  tied  to  the  end  of  a  string  and 
l^ut  in  the  bottom.  The  other  end  of  the  string  is  a 
slip-noose  concealed  in  the  snow  about  the  edge 
of  the  hole,  and  the  middle  of  the  string  passes 
through  another  string  tied  to  a  heavy  weight. 
When  the  fox  puts  his  head  into  the  hole 
and  jerks  at  the  bait,  he  tightens  the  noose 
about  his  own  neck  and  thus  hangs  himself. 
Another  fox-catcher  is  made  by  fastening  a 
curved  stick  between  two  ropes  twisted  tight, 
and  held  by  a  bobbin,  which  holds  the  bait, 
and  springs  it.  The  fox  nibbles  the  bait,  and 
releases  the  stick,  which  the  twist  in  the 
ropes  drops  on  his  head  like  a  sledge-hammer. 
Foxes,  and  likewise  a  species  of  ravens,  live, 
for  the  most  part,  on  field-mice,  of  which  there 
are  three  kinds.  Grouse  are  caught  in  the 
same  net  that  is  used  in  spring  for  seining 
salmon. 

Jack  rabbits  are  driven  into  an  inclosure 
made    of   nets,    then    killed.      These    rabbits 


180  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

weigh  ten  or  twelve  pounds  in  the  winter. 
Their  fur  then  is  a  beautiful  soft  white,  but 
in  the  summer  it  is  gray.  When  a  native 
wants  to  shoot  one  of  these,  he  walks  round 
and  round,  getting  nearer  each  time,  until 
close  enough  for  a  sure  shot.  The  rabbit  fol- 
lows the  hunter  with  its  eyes,  but  does  not 
notice  his  gradual  apjDroach. 

During  the  winter  the  Eskimo  have  one  meal 
daily.  It  begins  when  they  get  up,  and,  with 
a  few  intermissions,  ends  when  they  go  to  bed; 
one  course  after  another  is  brought  on,  with 
the  breathing  s^Dells  between.  When  there  are 
two  dishes,  one  is  for  the  men  and  the  other 
for  the  women,  but  when  only  one  dish,  the 
men  eat  what  they  want,  and  the  women  have 
the  leavings.  The  flesh  of  the  whale,  walrus, 
and  deer,  also  fish,  is  best  relished  when  raw, 
or  simply  warmed  to  thaw  the  frost  out  when 
frozen.  Bear  and  seal  meat  is  cooked,  if  the 
appetite  can  be  held  in  check  long  enough. 
A  sort  of  "crane"  is  hung  near  the  "stove" 
to  hold  the  kettle.  The  only  way  of  cooking 
meat  is  boiling.  If  birds  are  to  be  cooked,  only 
the  larger  feathers  are  pulled  out,  pin  feathers 
and  down  being  of  too  little  consequence  to 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  181 

bother  about.  Occasionally  birds  are  skinned 
when  the  skins  are  wanted  to  make  clothing, 
or  to  use  for  other  purposes.  The  viscera  are 
not  removed  until  after  the  cooking  is  done. 
Deer  have  a  parasite  living  between  the  skin 
on  the  back  and  the  flesh,  a  sort  of  maggot, 
which  is  about  one  inch  long.  It  is  as  great  a 
delicacy  to  the  Eskimo,  whether  raw  or  cooked, 
as  shrimp  is  to  the  more  civilized  epicure.  A 
curious  dish  is  made  of  snow,  salmon  berries, 
and  deer  fat,  mixed  together.  It  looks  like 
strawberry  ice-cream,  but  tastes  as  coon  meat 
would,  were  it  four  times  its  natural  strength. 
Meat  can  be  kept  a  long  time.  When  got 
in  summer  it  is  i^ut  into  caches,  or  buried  in 
some  shaded  nook,  where  it  remains  frozen 
solid.  In  winter  meat  is  simply  hung  up  on 
poles  out  of  the  reach  of  the  dogs  and  other 
animals.  Tea  has  come  to  be  in  great  demand, 
and  both  old  and  young  are  great  consumers 
of  it.  Nothing  short  of  eight  or  nine  cups  is 
really  satisfying.  Molasses,  or  sugar,  is  used 
for  sweetening  whenever  obtainable.  The  use 
of  milk  is  not  known. 

There  is  much  fishing  done  along  the  coast, 
and,  as  a  rule,  seines  are  used.    In  some  places 


182  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD    SIBERIA. 

tom-cod  are  plentiful,  while  in  the  rivers  are 
salmon  trout,  whitefisli,  and  a  sort  of  pike  that 
sometimes  grows  to  a  length  of  two  feet  or  so. 
salmon  run  in  the  spring.  Other  kinds  of  fish 
are  occasionally  caught,  so  it  can  be  said  that 
the  rivers  are  comi)aratively  well  stocked.  In 
winter,  frost-fish  are  caught  with  a  hook  and 
line  above  Point  Hope.  Sinew,  or  strips  of 
whalebone  tied  together,  form  the  fish  lines, 
and  the  hooks  are  crooked  pieces  of  wire  fixed 
in  a  stone,  shell,  or  piece  of  ivory.  Perhaps 
two  or  three  red  beads  serve  as  bait.  A  small 
shell  with  red  spots  makes  an  excellent  hook, 
when  fitted  with  wire,  but  as  it  comes  from 
British  Columbia  and  vicinity,  through  barter 
from  one  tribe  to  another,  it  is  very  expensive. 
What  might  be  called  spoon -hooks  are  used 
to  troll  for  salmon. 

Settlements  exchange  gossip  through  hunters 
and  travelers,  and  news  is  much  sought  after. 
By  this  method,  settlements  know  what  is 
going  on  around  them.  This  intercourse  serves 
to  keep  the  language  somewhat  uniform.  Yet 
there  are  variations  as  one  travels  north.  At 
the  south,  about  Port  Clarence  and  vicinity, 
there  are  many  harsh,  long,  jaw-breaking  words, 


THE   NAKOOKUKS.  183 

while  farther  north  there  are  comparatively  few. 
The  guttural,  however,  is  present  everywhere; 
not  the  liquid  guttural  of  the  GeiTnan,  but  an 
intensely  deei),  throat-scraping  one.  So  many 
Kanaka  sailors  have  been  north  that  several  of 
their  words  have  been  adopted  for  use  in 
trading.  Whalemen  who  have  been  in  Hud- 
son's Bay  and  learned  the  native  language 
there,  have  but  little  difficulty  in  conversing 
with  Point  Barrow  natives.  Some  words  are 
entirely  different — Nakooruk,  for  instance — but 
the  greater  number  are  practically  the  same, 
differing  only  in  a  syllable  or  termination. 
Many  words  are  found  at  Indian  Point,  Siberia, 
which  correspond  more  with  the  Point  Hope 
tongue  than  with  the  Masinker.  In  fact,  there 
are  more  Nakooruk  words  there  than  at  East 
Cape,  or  the  Diomedes. 

Some  of  the  more  common  words,  particularly 
of  the  region  from  Point  Hope  to  Point  Barrow, 
are  the  following:  Man  is  in-nuk;  boy  is  ill-ill- 
e-gak;  woman  is  ok-an-ok;  girl  is  ok-an-ow-rok; 
baby  is  mick-er-o;  gun  is  slioo-pung;  good  is 
nakooruk;  better  is  na-koo-pa-yah;  best  is  na- 
koo-pa  yak-took;  the  essence  of  perfection  or 
goodness  is  na-Jcoo-she-ak-to.     Cold  has  four 


184  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AXD   SIBERIA. 

degrees  of  comj)arison.  There  are  four  degrees 
of  negation.  In  fact,  these  cases  of  four  degrees 
are  frequent.  Words  with  different  and  deli- 
cate shades  of  meaning  are  numerous.  I  is 
oo-wung-ah;  the  summer  hut  is  too-pick;  the 
winter  hut  is  ig-a-loo;  dog  is  kig-mok;  the  name 
of  chanting  to  drive  away  the  devil  is  e-vu-ra- 
cog-a-uk'tuk;  drowsy  is  e-yah-zra-rung-na;  slow 
is  shu-kis-hii-pe-roone;  fast  is  shuk-i-sho-a- 
roon-e;  the  frock,  or  garment,  that  covers  the 
body  is  an  ar-tig-gi;  trousers  are  co-co-leet; 
water-boots  are  ar-co-co-leet;  other  boots  are 
named  according  to  the  material  of  which  they 
are  made,  or  the  j)attern  in  which  they  are  cut. 
In  a  vocabulary  of  eleven  hundred  common  and 
useful  words  made  by  Mr.  John  Kelley,  there 
are  but  four  of  one  syllable. 

I  am  told  that  during  the  winter  months  the 
natives  are  particular  in  regard  to  the  cleanli- 
ness of  their  persons  and  their  homes.  This  is 
reassuring,  for  In  summer  their  persons  are  at 
the  opposite  extreme,  judging  by  both  sight  and 
smell.  The  short  summer  is  one  great  holiday, 
and  in  it  the  natives  ignore  all  trouble  and 
care,  and  wear  out  their  old  clothes.  The 
demand  for  soap  increases  gradually  year  by 


.^ 


THE   NAKOORUKS.  185 

year,  as  also  does  that  for  underclothing  which 
can  be  washed. 

Any  peculiarity  of  i^erson,  or  manner,  is  very 
quickly  picked  uj),  and  most  captains  are 
designated  in  this  way.  In  trying  to  describe 
an  old  sailor,  a  native  i^ut  both  hands  to  his 
mouth,  back  to,  and  pointed  his  forefingers  in 
opposite  directions,  moving  them  slowly,  show- 
ing that  the  man  talked  two  ways,  or,  in  simple 
English,  told  lies. 

The  tobacco  habit  seems  to  be  instinctive, 
from  the  sucking  babe,  which  frequently  gets 
a  second-hand  chew  from  its  mother,  to  the  old 
people  who  can  only  munch  with  their  tooth- 
less gums.  The  nicotine  that  collects  in  a 
much-used  pipe  is  greatly  relished,  and  tobacco 
juice  is  swallowed  as  though  it  were  some  sweet- 
meat. But  perhaps  this  is  from  a  spirit  of  rigid 
economy.  A  native  would  go  a  hundred  miles 
for  a  supply  of  tobacco  were  he  out.  When- 
ever the  jaws  of  the  chewer  get  tired,  the 
partly  chewed  cud  is  frequently  laid  away 
behind  the  ear  like  a  pencil,  or  otherwise  held 
over  for  another  time.  A  child  old  enough  to 
walk  is  old  enough  to  have  a  pix^e. 

Matches  are  much  used,  yet  the  tinder-box 


186 


ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND    SIBERIA. 


is  always  handy,  especially  for  lighting  the 
piioe.  The  old  method-  of  making  a  light  by 
friction,  in  rubbing  a  piece  of  wood,  which  is 
fitted  into  a  socket  in  another  piece,  the  former 


MAKING  A  LIGHT  BY  FRICTION. 
[From  an  Enkimo   Drawing .} 

perpendicular,  and  the  latter  held  on  the 
ground,  is  still  used.  Bits  of  cotton  grass 
which  have  been  soaked  in  a  solution  of  char- 
coal and  water,  then  dried,  serve  as  tinder. 

Music,  if  it  can  be  called  such,  is  in  an  excep- 
tionally elementary  state.  I  only  heard  one 
song,  but  that  one  over  and  over  again,  a  very 


THE  NAKOORUKS.  187 

little  less  than  five  hundred  times.     It  was  as 
follows: 


ie^iE^i 


9-       -9-   -&-  -0-   -iS*-      -• 


Yung  ah,  yali,  yung  ah.    Yung  ah,  j'ah,  yung  ah, 

and  so  on,  with  slight  modifications,  until 
the  singer  went  to  sleep  or  stopped  from 
exhaustion.  To  hear  a  mother  sing  this  soul- 
stirring  melody  to  her  offspring,  in  a  voice  that 
closely  resembles  a  poorly  played  bagpipe,  both 
in  tone  and  shrillness,  and  then  see  her  sway 
back  and  forth,  and  occasionally  vary  the 
rhythm  by  bobbing  up  and  down  as  she  sat 
Turkish  fashion,  or  jumping  a  sort  of  a  jig — 
well,  it  is  not  strange  the  infant  goes  to  sleep. 
This  song  serves  for  all  occasions,  be  they  of 
joy  or  sorrow,  and  might  be  most  appropriately 
termed  the  Nakooruk  national  hymn.  But 
there  is  another  song  which  I  am  told  vies 
with  it  in  popularity.    It  begins  as  follows: 

Yah  ya  ko,  ya  ya  ko, 

Yah  ya  ko,  yaw  ya,  ko  yaw, 

and  ends  with  the  same  thrilling  sentiment. 

The  words  of  both  songs  are  meaningless. 


188  ABCTIC   i.LASK.A   AND   SIBEKIX. 


CHAPTEB  YII. 

SOME    TYPICAL    EXPERIENCES, 

To  give  a  brief  picture  of  Arctic  whaling, 
vividly  and  picturesquely,  I  have  gathered  the 
following  main  events  from  participants  in 
them. 

THE  WEECK  OF  THE  BAEK  NAPOLEON.  • 

The  sad  disaster  connected  with  the  wreck  of 
the  bark  Napoleon  has  so  woven  itself  into  my 
narrative,  and  is  so  tyiDical  of  the  fate  that 
hangs  over  every  Arctic  whaleman,  that  I  give 
it  as  told  to  me  by  Capt.  S.  P.  Smith,  and  com- 
pleted by  James  B.  Vincent,  whom  the  Bear 
rescued. 

"  On  the  night  of  May  3,  1885,  it  blew  the 
hardest  I  had  ever  known  it  to  in  the  Arctic 
regions.  I  hove-to,  as  I  could  not  keep  a  stitch 
of  sail  on  the  ship.  Cape  Navarin  lay  about 
fifty  miles  north-northeast  of  us.  At  ten  min- 
utes before  seven  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  189 

the  5tli,  tlie  men  came  out  of  the  forecastle 
saying  that  the  ship  was  full  of  water.  Our 
only  safety  lay  in  flight,  so  I  kept  the  ship  off 
the  edge  of  the  ice  so  that  we  might  have  room 
to  lower  the  boats.  The  ship  soon  became 
unmanageable,  but  the  boats  were  all  safely 
cleared  away,  and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes 
from  the  time  we  strack  the  cake  of  ice  that 
stove  us,  she  had  capsized,  not  giving  us 
time  to  get  food  or  drink,  or  to  save  anything 
except  what  we  stood  in.  Ten  minutes  after 
she  went  down  the  ice  surrounded  her,  but  we 
succeeded  in  getting  near  enough  to  get  off  the 
main  royal  to  use  in  case  of  necessity  in  build- 
ing a  tent  to  protect  us  from  the  wind  on  the 
ice.  That  night  we  lay  around  in  the  ice,  the 
wind  still  blowing  a  gale,  accompanied  by  fre- 
quent snow-squalls.  The  next  morning  we  got 
out  of  the  ice  and  worked  northeast.  We  had 
lowered  all  five  boats,  but  it  seemed  best  to 
divide  among  four,  for  convenience  in  hauling 
the  boats  over  the  ice. 

"At  noon  of  the  next  day,  the  weather  was 
clear  and  pleasant,  but  at  night  the  wind  came 
on  again  with  heavy  snow-squalls.  We  endeav- 
ored to  keep  the  boats  together,  but  as  dark- 


190  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

ness  came  on,  the  third  and  fourth  mates  got 
separated  from  us.  The  mate  and  I  waited 
for  them.  Soon  the  third  mate  came  up  and 
said  the  fourth  was  near.  We  waited  a  long 
time,  and  as  he  did  not  come,  concluded  that 
something  had  happened  to  him.  An  hour 
later,  we  lost  run  of  each  other.  I  concluded 
that  the  best  thing  to  do  was  to  drag  my  boat, 
and  to  do  this,  I  used  the  oars,  mast,  and  a  tub 
of  tow-line. 

"The  next  day,  Thursday,  it  was  still  blow- 
ing heavily,  and  it  continued  through  the 
night  with  snow-squalls.  Friday  it  moderated. 
We  made  a  sort  of  tent  over  the  boat  with  the 
sail  to  keep  off  the  water  that  was  dashing  over 
us.  Soon  afterward,  however,  we  shipped  a 
big  sea  that  threatened  to  swamp  us.  About 
eleven  o'clock  I  hauled  in  the  drag,  and  made 
sail.  That  evening  we  came  to  a  large  strip  of 
ice,  and  making  fast  to  it,  lay  down  to  get  what 
rest  we  could.  This  was  the  first  opportunity 
we  had  had  for  sleep. 

"Saturday  morning  broke  clear.  I  aroused 
the  men  only  to  find  that  one  had  died.  We 
got  under  way,  and  tried  to  find  some  of  the 
ships,  or  to  reach  shore.     About  noon,  we  dis- 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  191 

covered  what  we  thought  to  be  two  sails.  Two 
hours  later,  the  Fleetiuing  picked  us  up.  We 
learned  that  the  fourth  mate  and  his  crew  had 
been  picked  uj)  that  morning  about  six  o'  clock, 
two  of  his  men  having  died.  One  of -the  men 
in  my  boat  died  within  five  minutes  after  he 
'was  rescued.  Most  of  us  were  frost-bitten,  and 
our  hands,  feet,  and  legs  were  much  swollen, 
but  we  all  recovered,  excepting  one  man  who 
was  obliged  to  have  joart  of  his  foot  am];)utated. 

"  When  we  left  the  ship  all  the  food  we  had 
was  a  half  dozen,  or  so,  cakes  of  ship-bread. 
The  next  day  we  killed  two  pup  seals.  I  tried 
to  eat  some  of  the  raw  meat,  but  chose  rather  to 
starve.    Some  of  the  men  stomached  the  meat. 

'*  Later  in  the  season  I  shipped  as  boat- 
header  on  the  Orca,  and  finished  the  season  in 
her." 

Vincent  was  in  the  mate' s  boat,  and  taking 
up  the  narrative  from  the  time  the  boats  became 
separated,  said: 

"  Two  days  after  we  separated  from  the  cap- 
tain's and  other  two  boats,  we  fell  in  with  the 
third  mate.  Everybody  was  still  alive  in  his 
boat,  as  in  ours.  We  determined  to  keep 
together,  and  endeavored  to  reach  shore  in  the 


192  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AifD   SIBERIA. 

biii,ht  under  the  Cape,  for  that  seemed  our  only 
alternative.  In  doing  this  we  got  caught  in 
the  ice,  and  were  four  days  without  food.  Then 
we  caught  two  young  seals  and  divided  them 
among  the  men,  but  there  was  no  way  of  cook- 
ing, and  the  stomachs  of  many  of  the  men  were 
so  weak  that  they  could  not  keep  this  food 
down,  owing  to  the  meat  being  so  strong  and 
fishy.  The  mind  of  one  man  after  another 
began  to  weaken  until  several  were  crazy. 
Among  them  was  the  mate,  Hogers,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  lash  him  doAvn  to  the  thwarts 
of  the  boat. 

"It  was  thirty-six  days  before  we  reached 
shore.  Meantime  nine  of  the  eighteen  men  had 
died  and  the  two  seals  had  long  been  eaten. 
The  cold  was  terrible,  and  most  of  the  men  that 
survived  were  more  or  less  frost-bitten.  I  was 
the  only  one  that  could  walk  when  we  reached 
shore.  In  a  few  days  five  more  died,  and  the 
three  that  remained  were  helpless  from  frost- 
bites and  exhaustion.  We  fell  in  with  some 
natives  that  were  fishing.  Some  of  them  lived 
inland,  and  they  took  me  with  them  when  they 
returned  to  their  homes.  My  hope  was  to 
travel  around   the  Gulf  of  Anadir  and  reach 


i,^;f-:-' 


somp:  typical  exteriences.  193 

Plover  Baj',  where  I  might  fall  in  with  some  ol' 
the  whalers.  But  the  impossibility  of  this  plan 
was  soon  developed,  for  no  natives  were  travel- 
ing in  that  direction,  and  I  could  not  go  alone, 
so  I  remained  with  my  newly  made  friends  all 
winter. 

"  In  the  siDring  w^e  returned  to  the  shore  again 
to  fish,  and  my  three  shii)mates  were  found 
barely  alive.  They  supposed  I  had  gone  to 
Plover  Bay,  and  shortly  before  had  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  the  whalers  through  the  natives,  telling 
of  their  whereabouts  aud  giving  their  names, 
but  not  mentioning  mine.  (This  message  was 
received  by  the  Russian  trading  brig  Siberia, 
and  CaiDtain  Lincoln  searched  for  the  men  on 
his  return  down  the  coast,  but  they  had  died 
before  he  arrived.  The  natives  told  him  that 
Vincent  was  alive,  but  he  understood  them  to 
say  something  about  venison,  as  he  had  not 
heard  of  this  name  before.)  I  was  within 
thirteen  miles  of  where  the  Siberia  anchored, 
but  did  not  know  of  her  presence  until  too 
late. 

"  After  our  fishing  was  over,  we  returned  co 
the  mountains  again  for  the  winter,  driving  our 
reindeer  before  us.     Some  time  in  midwinter — 

18 


194  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

the  first  of  January  as  near  as  I  could  guess — 
I  carved  the  message  that  was  received  on  the 
bark  Hunter,  and  which  brought  about  my 
rescue,  hardly  daring  to  dream  that  it  would 
accomiDlish  its  object.  As  the  spring  opened, 
we  again  started  for  the  sea-shore  for  the  usual 
fishing,  and  while  there  I  saw  a  little  girl  with 
some  cookies  that  Mrs.  Simmons  had  given  her, 
only  a  few  hours  before,  on  the  Sea  Breeze. 
It  was  too  late,  however,  for  me  to  get  word  on 
board,  for  the  calm  that  had  held  the  vessel  was 
over,  and  she  had  sailed. 

"No  one  can  imagine  how  overjoyed  I  was, 
about  ten  weeks  later,  when  my  attention  was 
attracted  by  the  shouting  of  the  natives,  and  I 
looked  uj)  to  see  a  white  man,  and  to  find 
myself  at  last  rescued.  The  officers  of  the 
revenue  cutter  Bear  were  exceedingly  kind  to 
me,  not  only  while  I  was  on  board,  but  partic- 
ularly when  I  landed  in  San  Francisco,  alone 
and  penniless. 

"While  among  the  Eskimo,  I  was  cared  for 
by  an  old  native  whose  wife  received  me  as  her 
son.  After  a  year,  the  man  died,  but  his  last 
instructions  to  his  wife  were  to  care  for,  and 
keep  me  until  I  was  rescued.     When  at  last 


SOME  TYPICAL    EXPERIENCES.  105 

rescue  did  come,  she  said,  with  tears  in  her 
eyes,  that  she  was  ready  to  die,  for  she  had 
done  as  her  husband  wished." 


Shii^wreck,  starvation,  freezing,  or  drowning 
are  not  the  only  dangers  that  threaten  the 
sailor.  Since  the  time  that  long  whaling 
voyages  were  begun,  desperate  criminals  of  all 
sorts  have  taken  advantage  of  the  long  absence 
to  escape  detection,  and  not  infrequently  seek 
new  fields  for  their  ill-trained  talents.  In  a 
few  instances,  they  have  turned  mutineers,  and 
the  records  show  all  degrees  of  success  and 
failure.  The  last  experience  of  this  kind  in 
the  Arctic  fleet,  ^s  told  me  by  Capt.  Edmund 
Kelley,  was 

THE   MUTINY   ON   STEAMER  LFCRETIA. 

"When  master  of  the  Lucretia,  in  1883,  I 
had  in  my  crew,  as  I  afterward  found,  three  of 
the  most  desperate  hoodlums  in  San  Francisco, 
men  with  the  worst  of  criminal  records.  I  knew 
that  the  mate  was  not  having  the  easiest  time 
of  it,  but  I  was  so  sick  and  helpless  with  heart 
disease,  that  I  dared  not  know  too  much  about 
it.     Shortly  after  we  entered  Behring  Sea  on 


196  ARCTIC   ALASKA   A:ST>   SIBERIA. 

our  way  north,  the  crew  refused  duty.  A 
strong  gale  had  come  on,  and  they  would  not 
take  in  sail.  I  explained  to  the  men  how 
desperate  their  undertaking  was,  and  the  pun- 
ishment for  such  a  crime,  but  the  three  hood- 
lums seemed  to  have  complete  supremacy  over 
the  crew.  The  officers,  boat-steerers,  and  engi- 
neers then  took  in  sail,  and  we  hove-to  in 
proper  shape  to  receive  the  gale.  Meantime 
the  men  had  retreated  to  the  forecastle,  but 
not  before  I  had  got  the  cask  of  ship-bread  out, 
for  I  did  not  propose  to  feed  mutineers.  I 
now  asked  the  men  what  their  com]3laint  was, 
and  they  replied  that  they  hadn't  any,  except 
that  they  demanded  the  release  of  one  of  their 
shipmates  who  had  been  put  in  irons  for 
refusal  to  do  duty.  I  told  them  I  i^roposed  to 
decide  for  myself  when  the  man  should  be 
released.  The  ringleaders  then  repudiated 
their  shipping  contracts,  and  defied  me.  I  now 
had  the  forecastle  locked  up,  to  try  the  effects 
of  starvation  and  meditation. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  second  day,  they  began 
quaiTelling  among  themselves.  By  listening, 
we  had  learned  that  they  had  eleven  revolvers, 
besides  their  knives  for  weapons.    The  next 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  197 

morning  tliey  broke  tlieir  way  out  and  de- 
manded "bread  or  blood."  I  again  explained 
to  them  the  consequences  of  mutiny,  endeav- 
oring to  dissuade  them  from  going  further,  and 
told  them  that  I  would  hear  any  complaints  of 
ill-treatment  or  abuse.  The  cries  of  ' '  bread  or 
blood"  was  their  only  reply.  I  now  stepped 
forward  and  said  I  would  give  them  just  one 
more  chance  to  return  to  duty,  but  as  the  three 
ringleaders  threatened  to  shoot  the  first  man 
who  wavered,  no  one  responded. 

"Taking  my  rifle,  I  deliberately  walked  up 
to  the  head  mutineer,  and  demanded  that  he 
step  forward  and  surrender.  He  refused.  I 
now  made  a  movement  to  cock  my  rifle,  and  as 
I  did  so,  he  snapped  a  revolver  in  my  face 
twice,  then  ran  behind  the  try-works.  I  gave 
chase  into  the  midst  of  the  mutineers.  The 
rascal  went  around  the  try-works,  came  up 
behind  me,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  fired. 
Thinking  the  shot  fatal,  the  officers  and  men 
aft  fired  ux)on  him,  wounding  him  in  the  leg. 
He  dragged  himself  around  the  other  way  to 
get  another  shot  at  me,  but  I  met  him,  took 
good  aim  and  fired,  putting  a  ball  through  his 
heart.     He  dropped  dead. 


198  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

"I  now  turned  about  for  the  next  ringleader, 
and  was  surprised  to  see  revolvers  and  knives 
going  overboard  and  tlie  men  all  running  for 
the  forecastle.  I  called  every  man  back  on 
deck.  As  they  came  up  they  begged  mercy,  the 
two  ringleaders  beseeching  me  x^iteously  not  to 
shoot  them.  AU  were  very  willing  to  return 
to  work.  They  offered  no  excuses  further 
than  that  they  had  been  misled  and  misguided. 
During  the  rest  of  the  season  they  were  as  good 
a  crew  as  there  was  in  the  fleet.  I  had  to 
leave  the  ship  on  account  of  my  health,  but 
just  before  I  left,  most  of  the  men,  of  their 
own  accord,  drew  up  a  paper  entirely  exoner- 
ating me,  and  signed  it.  When  I  arrived  in 
San  Francisco  I  reported  the  affair  to  the  Fed- 
eral Court,  and,  after  hearing  the  evidence,  the 
judge  censured  me  for  not  shooting  the  other 
two  ringleaders,  then  discharged  me." 


Wind  and  ice  have  caused  a  large  majority  of 
the  disasters  in  the  Arctic.  Such  disasters, 
however,  are  inevitable.  But  the  raid  of  the 
rebel  cruiser  Shenandoah  was  wanton  destruct- 


SOME  TYPICAL  EXPERIENCES.  199 

iveness.     Here  is  the  story  of  it,  and  its  gi'eat 
cost  to  shii)-owiiers. 

THE    KAID   OF    THE    SHENANDOAH. 

Captain  Baiildry  was  first  mate  of  the  ship 
Addison  wlien  the  Shenandoah  appeared  to 
the  Arctic  whaling  fleet  in  June,  1865.  "The 
Brunswick,^ ^  said  he,  "liad  been  stove  while  in 
the  vicinity  of  Plover  Bay,  and  we,  with  several 
other  ships,  went  to  her  assistance.  Later  in 
the  same  day,  we  kept  off  Cape  Tliaddeus.  On 
the  second  day  afterward,  I  think  it  was,  we 
saw  smoke,  and  soon  a  long  black  steamer 
hove  in  sight.  We  supposed  it  to  be  in  the 
employ  of  the  comj^any  then  preparing  to  lay 
a  telegraph  cable  between  Asia  and  America, 
and  proposed  to  run  down  and  speak  it,  to  learn 
the  late  news;  but  a  strip  of  ice  two  miles 
wide  lay  between  us,  so  we  continued  cruising, 
intending  to  return  soon.  A  thick  fog  set  in 
and  we  saw  no  more.  When  it  cleared  up  a 
trifle,  I  saw,  from  aloft,  heavy  smoke  in  the 
direction  of  those  ships.  We  were  surprised, 
for  we  knew  tliey  had  no  whales  when  we  left, 
and  they  had  not  had  time  to  get  any  and  get 
to  boiling. 


200  AliCTiC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA, 

"The  next  day  we  had  turned  back.  I  called 
the  captain's  attention  to  what  appeared  to  be 
a  log-book  floating  on  the  water,  and  as  we 
advanced  we  came  upon  more  wreckage,  but 
even  then  it  did  not  enter  our  heads  who 
the  stranger  was,  or  what  had  ha]3pened. 
We  followed  along,  picking  up  oars,  gear,  etc. 
The  next  morning  the  Canton  Packet  came 
down  under  full  sail  and  signaled  us.  We 
hauled  aback,  and  Captain  Allen  told  us  who 
the  stranger  was,  and  that  he  was  burning  up 
the  whole  fleet.  Afterward  the  Jireh  Perry 
came  down  under  full  sail.  The  cruiser  had 
chased  her,  but  there  was  a  good  breeze  and 
she  was  too  fleet  for  him.  We  had  been  follow- 
ing in  the  wake  of  the  Shenandoah  as  fast  as 
sail  could  carry  us,  but  now  we  turned  about, 
and  in  company  with  the  two  vessels,  went 
south  to  St.  Paul's  Island,  then  sldrted  the 
Alaskan  shore  closely,  working  north.  Two  or 
three  days  after  we  went  south,  tile  General 
Pike  came  along  and  spoke  us.  She  had  been 
bonded,  and  with  two  hundred  and  lifty  men  on 
))oard,  crews  from  burned  ships,  was  bound  for 
Snn  L'rancisco,  We  were  then  told  that  the 
whole  fleet  had  been  burned  up. 


I  I  11  ., AliRRT.— Page  1G1. 


SOME   TYPICAL    EXPERIENCES.  801 

"  We  had  all  heard  of  the  fall  of  Richmond, 
and  several  caiDtains  had  told  Waddell  of  it, 
but  he  was  not  prepared  to  believe  it,  he  said, 
and  so  continued  his  depredations.  But  in  the 
Straits  a  Dutch  trader,  that  had  just  come  up, 
showed  him  late  iDapers,  assuring  him  of  the  fall 
of  the  Confederacy.  This  was  on  the  28th  of 
July.  He  then  went  across  the  Straits  from 
East  Gape  to  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  firing  guns, 
but  attacking  nobody.  As  he  headed  south 
on  the  east  shore,  we  sailed  into  the  Arctic  close 
under  the  west  shore.  He  had  burned  most  of 
the  finest  shii3s  in  the  fleet. 

"  When  the  cruiser  bore  down  on  the  Bruns- 
wick, Ca^Dtaiu  Potter  sent  a  boat  aboard  to  tell 
of  his  cripi)led  condition  and  ask  assistance. 
Waddell  replied  that  he  would  soon  give  him 
all  the  assistance  necessary,  then  proceeded  to 
burn  all  the  ships  in  sight.  Among  them  was 
the  Favorite,  of  Fairhaven,  Mass. ,  Capt.  James 
G.  Young.  When  he  saw  what  was  up,  Cap- 
tain Young  prepared  to  defend  himself.  All 
the  fire-arms  were  brought  out,  and  he  mounted 
the  house,  bomb-gun  in  hand,  but  the  first  mate 
saw  that  resistance  was  useless  and  quietly 
removed  all  the  caps.     As  the   Shenandoali  s 


202  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

boat  was  coming  on  its  incendiary  errand, 
Captain  Young  raised  the  bomb -gun  and  ordered 
it  off.  It  continued  coming,  and  he  snapi)ed 
his  gun,  intending  to  blow  the  boat  to  atoms. 
When  he  found  what  the  mate  had  done,  he 
could  do  nothing  but  submit.  When  the  lieu- 
tenant in  the  boat  came  on  board  he  accosted 
the  captain  and  said:  '  Would  you  have  shot 
nieV  '  Shot  you!'  was  the  rej)ly,  'yes,  shot  you 
like  a  dogi'  Though  nearly  seventy  years  old, 
his  inhuman  captors  i^ut  the  courageous  old 
man  in  irons  and  imprisoned  him  in  their  coal 
bunkers. 

"After  we  had  escaped,  we  feared  capture 
every  day,  and  prei)ared  for  it.  I  had  about 
$250  in  English  sovereigns,  which  I  concealed 
in  holes  bored  in  the  soles  and  heels  of  my 
boots.  I  put  a  few  other  valuables  in  my 
pillow.  When  the  General  Williams  was  cap- 
tured. Captain  Benjamin  carried  $600  in  his 
hand,  but  his  captors  promptly  relieved  him 
of  it. 

"Before  entering  Behring  Sea,  the  She7ian- 
doah  had  invaded  the  Ochotsk,  where  several 
vessels  were  burned,  among  them  the  Abagail, 
Capt.    Ebenezer  Nye.     Captain  Nye  immedi 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  203 

ately  set  out  with  two  whale-boats  to  wiiru  the 
Arctic  fleet  of  the  approaching  danger,  and 
through  this  act,  several  ships  were  enabled  to 
escape.  The  second  mate  of  the  Abagail, 
named  Manning,  was  a  Southerner,  and  he,  with 
a  renegade  Northerner  named  Dowden,  piloted 
the  rebel  into  the  Arctic.  Dowden  has  never 
courted  the  society  of  the  whalemen  since. 

"The  cruiser  burned  thirty  vessels,  and 
bonded  four.  New  Bedford's  loss  alone  was 
twenty-three  vessels,  which,  with  their  outfits, 
were  valued  at  $1,000,000.  The  prospective 
catch  was  another  million." 


The  first  great  set-back  to  Arctic  whaling 
was  the  wreck  season  of  1871.  While  I  was 
with  Capt.  Edmund  Kelleyhetold  me  the  story 
of  it,  as  follows: 

THE   GREAT   WRECK   SEASOIS"   OF   1871. 

.  "On  August  6,  1871,  five  of  us  ships  worked 
between  the  ice-pack  and  the  shoals  olf  Icy 
Cape.  The  shore  was  five  miles  off,  while  the 
edge  of  the  pack  extended  in  nearly  a  straight 
line  from  the  Cape  to  Wainwright  Inlet.  As 
the  ice  opened,  we  worked  northeast,  whaling 


204 


ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD  SIBERIA. 


all  the  time,  till  we  readied  tlie  end  of  tlie  open 
water.  There  we  made  fast  to  the  pack.  Many 
other  sails  followed  behind  ns.     On  the  11th, 


we  had  an  opportunity  to  lower  the  boats,  but 
the  ice  closed  up  suddenly,  and  we  were  forced 
to  drag  twenty-six  boats  over  it.  Fourteen 
boats  were  collected  on  a  single  cake  at  one 


SOME  TYPICAL  EXPERIENCES.  205 

time.  Within  half  an  hour  from  the  time  the 
ice  began  to  move,  we  were  solidly  inclosed. 
On  the  IBtli,  we  were  twenty  sails,  part  of  us 
beset  in  the  ice,  others  riding  at  anchor.  The 
16th  brought  thirteen  more  ships.  The  next 
day  a  movement  in  the  ice  forced  us  to  haul  up 
anchor,  and  get  nearer  in-shore.  We  were  all 
on  the  outside  edge  of  the  shoals  extending 
from  near  Wainwright  Inlet  to  Point  Belcher. 
I  determined  to  get  inside  the  shoals;  so,  with 
a  lead,  I  i^icked  out  a  channel  across  them,  and 
marked  it  by  sinking  bundles  of  bricks  to  which 
were  attached  pieces  of  wood  to  act  as  buoys. 
The  other  ships  followed  in  my  wake,  and  we 
all  got  inside,  although  two  sliii)s  went  ashore 
in  doing  so.  On  the  29th,  we  lay  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  shore.  By  this  time 
the  pack  had  reached  the  shoals.  The  next 
day  thirty-two  ships  were  fast  in  the  ice.  I 
w^as  stowing  down  oil,  and  allowed  no  thought 
of  danger  to  enter  my  head.  On  the  first  day 
of  September  the  Roman  was  carried  off  in  the 
pack.  The  next  day  came  the  news  that  she 
and  the  brig  Comet  were  crushed.  The  current 
now  set  in  slow,  and  the  ice  began  to  pack.  As 
a  precautionary  measure,  Capt.  Tom  Williams 


206  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 


and  I  went  south,  searcMng  for  open  water,  but 
it  was  in  vain.  We  felt  that  there  was  no 
pos^bility  of  rescue,  yet,  at  every  opportunity, 
we  kept  on  wlialing,  as  deliberately  as  though 
we  expected  to  get  out  the  next  day.  But  we 
were  anxious,  and  meetings  of  all  the  captains 
were  held  nearly  every  day,  and  every  phase 
of  the  situation  thoroughly  discussed.  Just 
north  of  Wainwright  Inlet  was  the  trading- 
brig  Victoria,  and  I  was  commissioned  to  see  if 
I  could  not  get  her  over  the  shoals.  Meantime, 
Capt.  David  Frazer,  with  two  whale-boats,  had 
been  sent  south  to  see  what  he  could  do.  In  two 
days  he  returned  and  reported  that  the  rest  of 
the  fleet,  seven  ships,  were  fast  in  the  ice  north 
of  Icy  Cape,  but  that  they  would  stand  by  the 
other  ships.  Getting  out  of  their  predicament 
in  a  few  days,  they  lay  at  anchor  waiting  devel- 
opments. We  captains  were  still  holding 
meetings,  for  we  felt  keenly  our  responsibility, 
with  $3,000,000  worth  of  property,  and  twelve 
hundred  lives  at  stake.  Young  ice  formed 
nearly  every  night,  and  the  land  was  covered 
with  snow.  There  was  every  indication  that 
winter  had  set  in. 

"Finally,  on  the  13th,  it  was  resolved  to 


SOME   TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  207 

abandon  the  fleet  the  next  day  if  there  was  no 
change.  Some  time  before  this,  the  women  and 
cliildren,  with  quantities  of  provisions,  had 
been  sent  to  the  ships  below.  Meantime,  three 
other  ships,  the  Eugenia,  Julian  iind  Aiuashonkj 
had  been  crushed,  and  all  their  jorovisions  lost. 
Their  crews  were  rescued,  and  divided  ux) 
among  the  other  sliiiDS.  With  terrible  sus- 
pense and  anxiety,  we  waited  for  the  next  day, 
September  14th.  When  it  did  come,  there  was 
the  same  weather,  and  a  motionless  barometer. 
Accordingly,  signals  were  set,  each  whale-boat 
manned  by  its  crew,  and  the  journey  to  the 
ships  ninety  miles  south  begun.  Thirty-three 
ships,  some  of  them  as  fine  as  any  ever  built, 
were  abandoned,  or  already  wrecked.  The  sad 
procession  of  our  two  hundred,  or  so,  whale-boats 
wound  its  way  through  a  narrow  strip  of  water 
between  the  ice  and  the  shore,  bottom  often 
being  struck,  it  was  so  shallow.  Young  ice 
had  frequently  to  be  broken  to  get  through. 
At  night  we  encamped  on  the  shore,  and  the 
next  morning  we  resumed  our  journey,  getting 
on  board  the  ships  that  afternoon.  There  were 
not  accommodations  for  more  than  forty  men 
on  board  any  of  these  ships,  yet  in  addition  to 


208  AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

their  own  crews,  and  the  women  and  children, 
they  had  to  divide  up  these  twelve  hundred 
men.  Sail  was  immediately  made.  Port  was 
made  at  Honolulu,  only  seven  of  the  splendid 
fleet  of  forty  vessels  that  had  left  that  port 
less  than  a  year  before  returning.  But  not  a 
life  had  been  lost. 

"When  the  ships  were  abandoned,  all  liquors, 
and  whatever  might  be  an  evil  to  the  natives, 
were  destroyed.  Hardly  had  we  stepped  from 
the  ships,  when  the  natives,  who  were  camped 
along  the  shore  in  hopes  of  plunder,  took  jdos- 
session  and  helped  themselves.  One  sailor, 
whose  mind  miis  not  right,  deserted  the  night 
we  camped,  and  returned  to  the  fleet.  He 
hoped  to  save  the  whalebone,  be  rescued  the 
next  season,  and  thus  make  his  fortune;  but 
the  natives  not  only  took  the  bone  from  him, 
but  threatened  to  murder  him.  When  rescued 
the  next  season,  the  sailor  told  of  the  plunder- 
ing of  the  ships  by  the  natives.  We  had  not 
destroyed  our  medicine  chests  at  the  abandon- 
ment, for  we  knew  there  was  a  possibility  of  oiir 
having  to  return  again.  The  natives  were  cau- 
tioned against  touching  these  chests,  but  with- 
out avail,  and  a  number   were  poisoned  by 


A  TI'.A.M     :  M 


SOME   TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  2(>0 

drinking  the  medicines.  Out  of  superstitious 
dread,  every  skip  on  which  a  native  was 
poisoned,  was  burned.  The  next  season,  my 
ship,  the  Seneca^  and  the  Minerva  were  found 
to  be  in  good  condition.  The  former  was  lost 
in  an  attempt  to  save  her,  but  the  other  was 
saved  and  again  went  into  service. 

*■ '  I  had  a  big  St.  Bernard  dog  on  vay  ship, 
and  he  seemed  to  fully  comprehend  the  situa- 
tion. When  it  came  to  leaving  the  ship,  I  got 
the  boats  away,  then  returned  to  take  a  part- 
ing look  at  the  cabin.  The  dog  followed  me, 
although  I  never  before  had  allowed  him 
below.  As  I  put  a  needle  in  the  clock  to  stop 
it  at  the  hour  of  i^arting,  the  dog  put  his  fore- 
paws  on  the  table  before  me,  and  looked  me 
clearly  in  the  eye  with  a  most  intelligent 
expression.  '  Bos,'  said  I,  '  we  must  leave  the 
ship.'  He  cried  pitifully.  When  I  returned 
on  deck,  he  followed.  Heavy  and  clumsy  as  he 
was,  he  gave  himself  up  completely,  and  we 
lowered  him  into  the  boat  with  perfect  ease." 


Following  closely  on  the  horror  of  1871  came 
the  disaster  of  1876,  much  more  dreadful, 
with  its  great    loss  of  life.     Capt.    Wm.    11. 


14 


210  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

Kelley,  who  lost  the  Marengo,   gave  me  the 
following  account  of  it: 

THE    HORROR    OF    1876. 

"Early  in  August  we  reached  Point  Barrow, 
in  spite  of  heavy  ice.  Soon  we  began  whaling, 
but  the  constantly  moving  ice,  and  strong  cur- 
rents, made  it  very  dangerous,  though  whales 
were  numerous.  Finally,  the  pack  came  down 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Point,  driving  the  ships 
south.  The  wind  shifted  into  the  southeast, 
causing  the  pack  to  close  in  rapidly.  At  this, 
we  made  the  fatal  mistake  of  attempting  to 
beat  south  against  a  strong  northeast  current. 
When  it  was  too  late,  we  saw  our  mistake,  but 
kept  persevering.  Working  down  into  a  deep 
pocket  in  the  ice,  we  found  ourselves  being- 
closed  in  upon,  and  after  ten  hours  of  hard 
beating,  were  completely  beset.  Two  of  the 
smaller  vessels  got  well  in-shore  and  escaped, 
while  two  vessels  had  remained  at  anchor.  We 
at  the  south  were  solidly  held  in  the  moving 
pack.  All  navigation  was  ended  and  we  Avere 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  ice,  drifting  slowly 
but  surely  into  the  northeast.  Immense  ice 
jams  wound  themselves  about  the  ships,  chok- 


SOME   TYPICAL   EXPERIETSTCES.  211 

ing  up  every  avenue  of  escape.  Some  of  the 
ice-floes  were  miles  in  extent.  I  had  never 
seen  such  ice  before,  and  each  succeeding  day 
increased  the  barrier. 

"At  last  we  came  to  an  apparent  standstill. 
We  masters  held  frequent  meetings.  Cold 
weather  was  fast  approaching  and  a  number  of 
ships  had  narrowly  escaped  being  nipped  by 
the  ice.  Seeing  no  hope  of  escape,  I  began 
to  seriously  consider  the  best  means  of  saving 
my  crew.  Two  boats  were  made  ready  to  haul 
over  the  ice  in  case  we  had  to  abandon  the  shij), 
for  this  was  our  only  hope  of  escape, 

"  Finally,  at  a  meeting  of  the  masters  in  my 
cabin,  it  was  decided  that  if  there  were  no 
change  for  the  better  within  a  certain  time,  we 
would  abandon  the  ships.  Clothing  and  pro- 
visions were  portioned  out  to  each,  man,  to  be 
ready.  The  hour  came  without  a  sign  of  a 
change.  I  was  asked  to  be  the  pilot.  The 
crews  were  marshaled  on  the  ice,  each.  shij)'s 
company  with  two  boats,  shod,  to  stand  hauling 
over  the  ice.  Some  of  the  men  positively 
refused  to  leave  their  shi]DS.  The  boats  would 
be  hauled  half  a  mile  or  more  over  the  ice,  then 
we  would  return  for  the  clothing  and  provisions. 


212  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

Then  the  boats  would  be  dragged  another  half 
mile  and  the  packs  brought  up.  Thus  we  kept 
on  untU  darkness  interfered,  and  we  camped 
on  a  large  ice-floe  that  night.  We  made  our 
camp  by  turning  the  boats  over,  crawling  under 
them,  and  lying  dcwTi  on  the  ice  to  get  what 
sleep  we  could.  Before  morning  there  was  a 
heavy  snow-storm  and  day  dawned  thick  and 
gloomy.  After  a  hasty  breakfast  of  salt  pork 
and  hard  bread,  we  again  took  up  the  march. 
I  fell  into  the  water  twice  while  j)icking  out  the 
best  track,  and  nearly  froze  to  death,  but  by 
breaking  up  one  of  the  small  boats  and  build- 
ing a  fire,  I  dried  my  clothes  and  got  rested. 
Then  we  started  on  again.  The  close  of  the  sec- 
ond day  found  us  encamped  on  a  large  cake  of  ice 
that  was  grounded  in  twelve  fathoms  of  water. 
The  following  night  was  even  more  gloomy  than 
the  preceding  one  had  been.  All  open  holes  of 
water  were  frozen  over — a  warning  that  we 
must  lose  no  time.  Again  we  made  our  beds 
upon  the  ice.  It  was  one  of  the  most  miserable 
nights  I  ever  experienced. 

"At  daybreak  we  started  again,  launching 
our  boats.  The  young  ice  that  had  formed  was 
not  strong  enough  to  bear  us,  so  we  had  to 


SOME   TYPICAL  EXPERIENCES.  213 

break  our  way  tliroiigli  for  several  hundred 
yards,  when  we  reached  a  tloe.  Then  we  hauled 
the  boats  over  this.  At  noon  we  stopped  to 
eat  something,  but  self-denial  was  necessary  in 
order  that  our  scanty  supply  of  provisions 
might  hold  out  as  long  as  joossible.  I  crawled 
to  the  top  of  the  highest  iceberg  at  hand  and 
swept  the  horizon  with  my  glass.  Seeing  land 
in  the  far  distance,  I  cried  '  Land,  ho!'  and  it 
was  re-echoed  by  hundreds  of  voices.  The 
journey  was  now  resumed  with  renewed  energy. 
At  about  three  o'clock  we  came  upon  a  great 
crevasse,  which  was  fully  twenty  feet  broad  and 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  deep.  This  extended  a 
long  distance  each  way  and  lay  directlj''  across 
our  course.  To  go  around  would  consume  a 
great  deal  of  time,  so  we  formed  a  bridge  of 
our  boats  and  thus  passed  over.  At  seven  in 
the  evening  we  reached  the  narrow  strip  of 
water  next  to  the  land.  The  boats  were  now 
launched,  and  for  the  first  time  we  set  our  sails. 
By  ten  o'clock  we  reached  shore.  Stores  were 
unloaded,  and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  the 
beach  was  lined  with  fires.  The  boats  were 
hauled  up  high  and  dry,  then  the  tu-ed  and 
exhausted    men,    whom    no    prudence    could 


214  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

restrain,  ate  a  hearty  meal  and  lay  down  for 
such  sleep  as  they  could  get. 

"There  was  now  a  fair  prospect  of  escape,  yet 
our  salvation  lay  with  the  ships  below  Point 
Barrow.  At  daybreak  all  were  aroused.  Pro- 
visions were  low,  but  the  sailors,  with  their 
usual  improvidence,  ate  as  if  they  had  a  year' s 
supply  on  hand.  Boats  were  launched,  and,  in 
the  face  of  a  freezing  wind,  we  got  under  way. 
We  rowed  some  time,  but  the  men  suffered  so 
much  from  cold,  that  we  landed  and  towed  the 
boats  along  the  beach,  canal-boat  fashion.  By 
this  exercise  we  kept  up  a  circulation  of  blood. 
The  moisture  of  our  breaths  froze  on  our 
whiskers,  forming  bundles  of  ice  that  looked 
like  the  old-fashioned  dipped  candles.  When 
we  had  made  about  fifteen  miles  in  this  way, 
we  came  to  shore-ice  and  had  to  take  to  the 
boats. 

"That  night  we  camped  on  the  beach  and 
met  some  natives.  They  begged  all  they 
could  from  us,  and  otherwise  showed  disre- 
gard for  our  pitiable  condition.  Probably  it 
was  our  numbers  that  kept  them  from  other 
imposition,  perhaps  robbery.  The  next  day, 
the  fifth,   the  wind    had    died    out  and   the 


SOME  TYPICAL  EXPERIENCES.  215 

weather  was  intensely  cold,  so  that  young  ice 
formed  rapidly.  Still  we  pushed  on,  breaking 
our  way  through  as  best  we  could.  But  the 
nearer  we  drew  to  Point  Barrow,  the  thicker 
the  ice  became.  When  witliin  two  miles  of  it, 
we  landed  on  a  low  sand-spit  and  shot  a  number 
of  wikl  ducks,  and  the  starving  men  greedily 
devoured  them,  so  that  those  who  shot  tlieni 
got  nothing.  From  here  on,  it  was  difficult 
getting  along,  but  at  last  we  reached  the  ships, 
and  were  kindly  received.  A  consultation  was 
held,  and  it  was  deemed  best  for  us  to  continue 
our  Journey  to  Cape  Smyth. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  we  reached 
bark  Florence  and  were  most  cordially  received 
by  the  Captains  Williams,  one  of  whose  vessels 
was  six  miles  below.  Both  ships  lay  in  conir 
parative  safety  behind  ground-ice.  Each  cap- 
tain offered  us  the  shelter  of  his  vessel,  and  a 
share  of  the  last  biscuit  on  board,  should  it 
become  necessary. 

"We  concluded  that  the  open  sea  could  not 
be  reached  without  destniction  to  the  boats, 
for  the  solid  pack  lay  on  the  shore  as  far  south 
as  Icy  Cape,  and  there  was  no  open  water  along 
the  land.     This  left   only  the  alternative   of 


216  ARCTIC   ALASKA    AND   SIBliRiA. 

waiting  where  we  were,  in  lioj)es  tliat  a  gale 
would  come  up,  drive  the  ice  off-shore,  and  set 
the  ships  free.  As  a  j)recautionary  measure, 
and  to  consume  time  and  attention,  we  began 
to  build  winter  quarters  on  shore,  while  the 
best  whalemen  were  picked  out  to  catch  whales, 
and  thus  lay  in  a  winter's  supply  of  food. 
The  remaining  men  were  told  off  into  gangs,  some 
to  gather  wood,  others  to  gather  turf  to  cover 
the  hut.  Were  no  whales  caught,  starvation 
was  inevitable,  and  were  no  protection  from 
the  elements  prepared,  freezing  to  death  was 
inevitable.  Everybody  worked  A^dtli  a  Avill,  and 
the  hut  soon  assumed  shape.  The  men  lived 
in  tents  of  old  sail-cloth. 

"  On  the  first  day  of  our  work  a  light  breeze 
sprang  up.  The  next  day  it  increased  to  a 
gale.  With  each  increasing  gust  our  hopes 
rose  accordingly.  On  the  third  day  the  gale 
had  so  increased  that  the  ice  began  to  move. 
Slowly  but  surely  it  drew  back,  leaving  only 
the  ground  cakes,  behind  which  the  ships  lay. 

"While  we  were  busily  working  on  the 
fourth  day,  the  signal  was  given  that  escape 
was  possible.  With  a  shout,  Avork  was  aban- 
doned,  and  a  wild  rush  made  for  the  boats. 


,   SOME  TYPICAL  p:xpeutp:nces.  2n 

Pell-mell  the  men  tumbled  into  them,  even 
forgetting  the  few  articles  they  still  possessed, 
and  leaving  the  tents  standing.  It  took  but  a 
few  minutes  to  get  the  whole  fleet  of  boats 
under  way,  bound  toward  the  Morence.  Our 
stock  of  provisions  was  almost  exhausted  and 
we  had  been  on  allowance  for  some  time. 
Starvation  was  staring  us  in  the  face.  When 
we  arrived,  we  found  that  Captain  Williams 
had  succeeded  in  cutting  a  passage  through  the 
ice  and  had  anchored  his  vessel  outside  a  large 
ground  cake.  As  soon  as  we  all  got  aboard, 
anchor  was  weighed,  and  we  ran  down  to  the 
Clara  Bell.  She  was  fast  in  the  ice,  so  she  was 
abandoned,  and  her  crew  came  aboard  the 
Floix'uce. 

"On  our  way  south  we  stopped  at  Wain- 
wriglit  Inlet  for  some  wood,  and  while  there 
were  joined  by  the  TTiree  Brothers.  Half  the 
men  were  put  on  board  her,  and  after  appointing 
a  rendezvous,  we  separated.  We  met  as  agreed, 
made  a  final  division  of  men  and  provisions, 
each  taking  half.  When  we  entered  the  Golden 
Gate  the  last  piece  of  meat  was  in  the  copper, 
and  the  last  loaf  of  bread  in  the  oven.  Thus 
we  barely  made  ends  meet. 


218  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA. 

"  Not  a  particle  was  ever  seen  of  the  aban- 
doned ships  nor  a  word  ever  lieard  from  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  that  remained  on 
board  of  them." 


In  most  seasons  it  is  a  terrible  ordeal  to  get 
ont  of  the  Arctic  safely.  With  gales,  currents, 
blinding  snow-storms,  and  long,  dark  nights, 
each  master  has  literally  to  feel  his  way  with 
the  lead,  and  get  what  aid  he  can  with  log  and 
lookout.  As  typical  of  what  this  ordeal  is, 
also  of  what  dangers  the  Arctic  navigator  is 
called  upon  to  go  through,  I  give 

THE   EXPERIElSrCES   OF  CAPTAIlSr   BAULDRY. 

"  When  master  of  the  ship  Navy,  in  1870, 1  got 
caught  in  a  heavy  gale  and  thick  snow-storm 
that  began  on  the  third  of  October  and  lasted 
thirteen  days.  I  supposed  myself  on  the  Alas- 
kan shore,  but  when  it  cleared  up,  I  found 
myself  off  Cape  Serge,  Siberia,  and  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  Ave  kept  from  going  ashore. 
Driven  over  into  the  vicinity  of  "  Big"  River, 
as  we  call  the  Koliutchin  River,  I  sought  the 
lee  of  the  island  of  the  same  name,  and  dropped 
anchor.      Between    the  island  and  the  main 


SOME   TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  219 

lant^  was  a  tide  rip  where  the  breakers  rose 
high  in  the  air,  leading  us  to  fear  that  we  were 
running  directlj^  on  a  sand-bar.  Yet  we  could 
do  nothing  else  but  risk  it.  Had  it  been  one, 
every  man  would  have  been  drowned.  All 
the  sails  had  been  blown  away  by  the  gale,  and 
nearly  all  hands  were  frost-bitten.  Fearing 
that  we  would  have  to  spend  the  winter  here, 
I  went  ashore  to  a  settlement  of  natives  to  see 
what  the  prospects  were.  Meantime  new  sails 
were  bent  to  be  ready,  should  the  wind  haul 
and  give  us  a  chance  to  get  out.  On  the  16th 
the  wind  began  to  slacken,  but,  as  it  did  so,  the 
northwest  i:>ack  moved  down  on  us.  Never- 
theless, we  got  under  way.  Then  young  ice 
began  to  form,  and  it  was  so  thick  that  we 
could  hardly  press  through  it.  Finally,  how- 
ever, we  emerged  into  clear  water,  and  on  the 
18th  passed  through  the  Straits. 

' '  The  same  gale  had  played  havoc  with  the 
rest  of  the  fleet.  The  Japan,  Capt.  F.  A.  Bar- 
ker, had  been  carried  ashore  at  East  Cape  and 
wrecked-  SLiid  the  Massac7iuseits,  Captain  Cody, 
would  also  have  been  wrecked  had  not  the 
other  disaster  been  witnessed  by  all  hands, 
who  did  not  suspect   the  presence  of    land. 


220  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND    SIBERIA. 

Several  other  ships  also  suffered  from  the  gale. 
Had  I  known  of  the  wreck  of  the  Japan,  I 
might  have  hauled  in  under  East  Cape,  taken 
all  on  board,  and  saved  them  from  wintering 
there, 

"With  such  an  experience  as  this,  and  so 
narrow  an  escape  from  being  wrecked,  I  looked 
forward  to  a  good  passage  down,  but  in  this  I 
was  greatly  mistaken.  Off  St.  Matthew's 
Island  a  sea  struck  us,  breaking  off  the  cut- 
water, carrying  away  the  bob-stays,  and  gener- 
ally wrecking  tlie  stem.  I  soon  patched  things 
lip,  but  we  had  hardly  recovered  before  we 
encountered  another  gale  off  St.  Paul's  Island. 
There  we  were  struck  by  a  sea  that  carried 
away  all  the  boats  and  davits  on  the  port  side, 
and  stove  the  bulwarks  all  round.  We  looked 
to  be  thoroughly  smashed  up,  but  arrived 
safely  at  Honolulu  without  further  mishap  of 
consequence. 

"  The  next  year  I  lost  the  Navy  in  the  great 
wreck,  when  the  thirty -three  ships,  were  aban- 
doned. 

"In  1873,  when  I  had  the  Arnolda,  I  had  a 
much  narrower  escape  from  being  wrecked 
than  I  had  in  1870.     Early  in  October,  when 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  221 

off  Point  Barrow,  I  stove  in  one  bow,  break- 
ing four  planks  and  four  timbers.  To  press  it 
back  into  place,  it  was  necessary  to  cut  off 
three  more  timbers.  I  was  advised  to  aban- 
don the  ship,  but  declined  to  leave  her  until 
I  was  obliged  to.  By  the  time  I  got  the 
last  timber  cut  off  the  hold  was  full  and  the 
water  had  reached  the  between-decks.  We 
had  the  blubber  of  three  whales  on  board,  so 
that  the  main  hatches  could  not  be  got  at  to 
bail  out  and  aid  the  x^umps  :  but  by  working  in 
the  water,  I  got  a  tarred  blanket  over  the 
break,  then  put  boards  over,  and,  with  spars, 
wedged  the  bow  back  into  place.  Had  she  not 
been  a  live-oak  shi}),  the  i^ressure  on  the  other 
bow  would  have  broken  that  out.  To  add  to 
the  confusion,  the  boat-steerers  got  at  a  keg  of 
rum,  and  all  were  dead  drunk  when  I  got  on 
deck. 

"  In  this  crippled  condition,  I  went  dowTi  to 
Plover  Bay,  and  there,  by  the  aid  of  Capt.  W.  H. 
Kelley,  and  others,  got  the  bow  out  of  water, 
filled  up  the  cracks  with  sawdust,  put  on  tarred 
canvas,  then  planked  it  all  over.  Thus  a  check 
was  put  on  the  leak.  We  got  out  of  Behring 
Sea   all   right,   but   just  below  the  Aleutian 


222  ARCTIC    ALASKA    AND    SIBERIA. 

Islands  encountered  a  gale  which  threatened 
to  swamp  us.  It  would  have  done  so  had  it 
lasted  long,  for  the  leak  gained  on  us,  though 
the  pumps  were  going  all  the  time.  When  we 
arrived  at  Honolulu  we  were  leaking  20,000 
strokes  in  twenty-four  hours.  To  put  the  plank- 
ing on,  I  had  used  six-inch  spikes,  but  when  we 
reached  port  they  were  eaten  down  as  small 
as  ten-penny  nails.  The  shij)  carpenter  who 
repaired  her  said  they  could  not  have  lasted  a 
week  longer,  and  it  was  a  wonder  they  held  as 
long  as  they  did.  The  next  year  I  stove  her 
stem  so  that  she  leaked  22,000  strokes  in 
twent3^-four  hours  on  the  way  down. 

"But  there  has  been  no  experience  in  the 
Arctic  that  equals  what  I  went  through  with 
in  1879  when  I  had  the  Helen  Mar.  The 
weather  held  good,  and,  as  there  was  whaling, 
several  of  us  stayed  late.  We  were  in  the 
vicinity  of  Herald  Island,  and,  as  there  were  no 
indications  of  ice,  we  felt  safe.  One  by  one 
the  vessels  kept  off  until  only  four  of  us 
remained.  I  knew  it  was  not  safe  to  remain 
longer,  for  one  night's  freezing  might  hold  us 
there  for  good;  so  I  ran  down  to  the  Mercury, 
telling  Captain  Hickmott  that  I  was  bound  oat. 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  223 

He  had  just  picked  up  a  dead  whale,  and  asked 
me  to  wait  till  he  got  it  cut  in,  then  we  could 
go  out  together.  That  night,  the  23d  of  Octo- 
ber, we  saw  in  the  distance  the  '  bug  light '  of 
the  3It.  Wollaston,  Capt.  Ebenezer  Nye.  Near 
him  was  the  Vigilant,  Capt.  Chas.  R.  Smethers, 
and  that  was  the  last  ever  seen  of  them. 

"  In  running  out  I  w^anted  to  go  by  Herald 
Shoals,  but  Captain  Hickmott  thought  a  better 
route  would  be  by  Cape  Serge.  When  we  came 
to  young  ice  off  the  Cape,  I  knew  it  was  of  no 
use  going  further,  so  we  kept  off  for  the  Shoals; 
but  there,  too,  we  were  now  headed  off.  The 
northwest  pack  had  come  down,  and  the  north 
pack  had  been  driven  south  so  that  both  rested 
on  the  Shoals.  Here  we  were  in  a  large  hole,  so 
large  that  a  ship  could  go  on  one  tack  all  day 
long,  yet  we  were  hemmed  in.  The  ice  was  fast 
moving  north,  so  I  let  go  both  anchors  with 
ninety  fathoms  of  cable,  hoping  to  hold  the 
vessel  and  let  the  ice  drift  by.  The  Mercury 
was  made  fast  to  my  stern  by  hawsers.  This 
proved  futile,  and  we  drifted  off  into  the 
northeast  with  the  ice. 

"A   fierce  northeast  gale  now  sprang  up, 
lasting  six  hours.     The  Mercury  made  all  sail. 


224     V^AECTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBEIUA. 


but  was  caught  hopelessly  in  the  ice.  I  was  in 
a  better  j)osition,  and,  as  it  was  evident  that 
the  chances  were  against  our  getting  out,  it  was 
decided  to  abandon  her,  as  my  vessel  was 
stronger  and  more  seaworthy.  That  night 
young  ice  formed  that  would  hold  a  ton  of 
blubber  and  fifteen  men.  Though  the  Mercury's 
last  whale  was  a  dead  one,  we  knew  that,  as  a 
last  resort,  the  blubber  could  be  depended  upon 
for  food,  so  we  dragged  it  across  the  ice  with 
all  the  provisions,  and  put  everj^thing  aboard 
my  ship.  This  took  four  dayp,  and  just  as  we 
got  the  last  article  moved  and  everybody  safely 
on  board,  my  shiiD  began  to  move.  I  had  never 
before  imagined  such  cold  as  we  now  experi- 
enced. We  had  a  fire  in  the  forecastle,  two  in 
the  blubber  room,  and  one  in  the  cabin,  yet 
every  night  frost  an  inch  or  more  thick  would 
form  on  the  inside  of  the  ship.  A  timely  gale 
from  the  northwe-st  broke  the  ice  sufficiently 
for  me  to  feel  a  faint  ray  of  lioi)e  ahead, 
though  no  open  water  could  be  seen  from  the 
masthead.  We  cut  ourselves  free  from  the 
Mercury  and  made  all  sail.  We  could  only 
steer  with  the  sails,  as  the  rudder  was  lield 
solid  by  ice.     The  stem  was  a  mass  of  solid  ice 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  23o 

even  to  the  catheads,  and  around  the  ship  at 
the  water's  edge  was  a  regular  platform  of  ice, 
so  that  one  could  walk  around  the  vessel. 

*^The  gale  pressed  us  forward  into  the  ice, 
and  we  ran  all  night  through  heavy  ice,  headed, 
as  near  as  we  could  judge,  for  Point  Hope. 
The  next  day  the  ice  grew  lighter,  so  that  we 
made  more  headway. 

"After  two  days  and  two  nights  we  came 
into  clear  water.  Here  another  gale  struck  us, 
and  it  was  the  most  terrifiic  one  I  had  ever 
experienced  at  sea.  Coming  from  the  northeast, 
it  brought  heavy  ice-floes  down  on  us,  and  we 
had  these  to  contend  against  as  well  as  the  fear 
of  running  ashore.  So  much  'ice-smoke' 
rose  from  the  water  that  nothing  could  be  seen 
ahead  of  us  from  the  deck,  so  I  stationed 
myself  in  the  foretop  and  remained  there  till 
the  gale  subsided,  directing  the  ship  as  best  I 
could,  and  keeping  clear  of  the  largest  i^ieces 
of  ice.  The  next  day  the  weather  moderated 
and  we  reached  the  Diomedes.  No  human  being 
can  imagine  what  we  had  gone  through,  or 
what  anxiety  of  mind  I  suffered  with  all  these 
lives  dei3endent  upon  me.  Neither  the  mate, 
Mr.  Carter,  or  myself  had  had  a  bit  of  sleep  for 

15 


226  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AND   SIBERIA.  • 

five  nights  or  daj^s,  and  I  feared  he  would  die, 
he  was  so  nervous.  To  induce  sleep,  I  gave 
him  a  large  amount  of  laudanum,  and  he  lay 
with  botli  ej^es  wide  ojDen,  j^et  in  the  deepest 
sleep.  Had  there  been  fifteen  miles  more  of 
ice  to  go  through,  we  certainly  would  have 
gone  to  the  bottom.  The  ship  could  not  have 
stood  the  strain.  As  it  was,  she  was  almost 
cut  through  on  the  bluff  of  both  bows.  The 
ice  had  been  fearful.  It  seems  as  if  we  must 
have  been  mj^steriously  guided  past  the  large 
pieces,  for  had  we  struck  one  solidly,  it  would 
have  sunk  us.  Gold  whales  and  a  gold  ship 
would  not  tempt  me  to  undergo  another  such 
experience. 

"The  gale  let  go,  and  we  were  waiting  to 
pass  through  the  Straits.  At  that  moment  a 
breeze  from  the  soutli  sprang  up  and  opened 
the  way  in  the  barrier  of  ice.  We  started  to 
beat  down,  and,  giving  the  course  to  the  officer 
on  deck,  I  lay  down  for  my  first  rest  in  appar- 
ent security.  But  in  the  night  the  wind 
shifted,  and  while  we  were  going  ahead  at  the 
rate  of  six  knots  an  hour,  headed  south-south- 
east, with  the  wind,  the  current  was  carrying 
us  astern  into  the  north -north  east  at  the  rate 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPBRIENCES.  227 

oi'  three  knots.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, during  a  thick  snow-squall,  the  shix3  struck 
bottom.  I  felt  the  first  thump,  and,  comi)re- 
hending  the  situation,  rushed  on  deck.  Before 
I  got  there  the  men  had  hauled  doAvn  all  the 
sails  and  were  throwing  things  overboard  to 
lighten  the  ship.  I  got  all  sail  on  her  again, 
hove  her  on  her  beam  ends,  and  floated  her 
off.  When  daylight  came  we  got  out  of  the 
current  and  beyond  all  these  dangers.  We 
had  struck  on  the  shoals  off  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  marvel  Is  that  it  did  not  com- 
plete the  work  the  ice  had  so  well  begun,  and 
taken  the  bottom  off  the  ship.  As  it  was, 
she  left  her  false  keel  and  forefoot  there. 
None  of  us  could  have  lived  to  reach  shore 
in  that  sea  of  icy  water;  or,  if  any  had  lived 
through  it,  the  treacherous  natives  on  the 
Cape  would  probably  have  ended  our  lives. 
Captain  Hickmott's  wife  and  young  daughter 
were  prepared  to  drown  themselves  rather  than 
attempt  to  reach  shore. 

"The  wheel  could  only  be  moved  two  spokes 
when  we  finally  got  out,  owing  to  ice  in  the 
rudder-box.  That  south  wind  alone  rescued 
us.    Had  it  come  a  few  hours  earlier,  we  could 


228  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD   SIBERIA. 

not  possibly  have  escaped,  and  its  short  dura- 
tion is  probably  what  caused  the  loss  of  the 
other  two  ships.  It  was  the  first  of  November 
when  we  finally  left  the  Arctic,  the  latest  that 
any  ship  has  ever  come  out.  To  think  that  we 
had  gone  through  such  a  terrible  ordeal  then 
to  run  ashore,  was  disheartening,  but  after 
once  fairly  homeward  bound,  sailing  was  com- 
paratively smooth.  We  had  plenty  of  pro- 
visions for  the  seventy-three  persons  on  board, 
but  toward  the  last  the  fresh  water  ran  short,  and 
each  person  was  limited  to  three  pints  a  day. 
We  had  been  given  up  for  lost  by  everybody 
at  home,  for  we  were  nearly  a  month  late. 
When  we  were  running  out  through  the  ice  it 
made  such  a  noise  scraping  against  the  side  of 
the  ship  that  we  could  not  hear  one  speak  in 
a  loud  voice,  even  in  the  cabin, 

"  While  the  men  were  hauling  the  blubber 
and  provisions  across  the  ice  from  the  Mercury ^ 
hardened  old  salts  as  they  were,  they  would 
get  down  on  their  knees,  cry  like  children,  and 
pray  to  God  to  only  deliver  them,  and  they 
would  be  better  men;  but  I  noticed  that  just 
as  soon  as  we  were  out  of  our  troubles  they 
gave  vent  to  a  great  deal  of  pent-up  irreverence 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENOBS.  289 

and  profanity.     I  never  heard  such  swearing- 
equaled. 

"The  next  year  the  natives  at  Cape  Serge 
reported  that  two  wrecked  vessels  came  down 
in  a  floe  in  the  winter  and  that  they  went  on 
board  and  found  all  hands  frozen  to  death. 
From  the  relics  they  got  there  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  they  saw  the  Mt.  Wollaston  and  Vigi- 
lant. I  am  confident  that  I  saw  one  of  them 
fifteen  miles,  or  so,  off  in  the  pack  in  the  vicinity 
of  Herald  Island  the  next  season,  but  it  was 
impossible  to  reach  her." 


To  illustrate  what  the  life  of  a  trader  among 
the  Eskimo  is,  and  also  to  show  the  hospitable, 
yet  vindictive,  character  of  the  natives,  I  give 

CAPTJ^i:^^   COGAN'S    winter    at    ST.    LAWRENCE 
BAY,    SIBERIA. 

"The  whaler  and  trader  jro/io^<z,  of  Honolulu, 
came  north  in  1862  to  w^inter  under  charge  of 
Captain  Brummerhofl:.  I  came  up  as  first  mate 
and  navigator,  intending  to  go  down  in  the  fall 
and  return  in  the  sprmg,  but  I  decided  to  stay 
over,  too.     We  wintered  about  a  quarter  of  a 


230  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AIS'D   SIBERIA. 

mile  from  the  north  shore  in  St.  Lawrence  Bay, 
near  the  spot  where  the  Rogers  was  afterward 
burned.  Soon  after  we  anchored  the  sailors 
went  ashore,  stole  some  whisky  from  one  of 
the  native  huts,  got  drunk,  and  came  aboard 
and  resolved  to  take  the  ship.  We  put  them 
in  irons  and  under  guard.  The  native  of 
whom  they  stole  the  liquor  came  aboard  after- 
ward and  remained  two  or  three  days.  Mean- 
time a  strong  gale  sprang  up.  Some  of  the 
sailors  told  him  they  had  seen  the  wind  carry 
off  his  hut  and  destroy  everything.  This  set 
the  fellow  crazy.  He  insisted  upon  going 
ashore.  We  knew  it  would  be  impossible  to 
land  him,  and  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade  him. 
While  we  were  at  dinner  one  day,  he  jumped 
overboard  and  started  to  swim  ashore.  I  threw 
a  line  to  him,  but  he  brushed  it  away  and 
started  off.  He  had  almost  reached  shore,  when 
he  encountered  young  ice,  lost  his  strength  and 
was  drowned,  his  body  never  being  seen  again. 
After  the  gale  subsided,  his  father  and  two 
brothers  came  aboard  inquiring  for  him.  We 
told  them  the  truth,  but  the  sailors,  who  sought 
revenge  on  the  captain,  told  them  that  the 
captain  "had  stabbed  him  and  thrown  the  body 


SOME  TYPICAL   EXPERIENCES.  231 

overboard.  They  ignored  our  story  and  believed 
this.  They  then  told  the  captain  they  would 
kill  him  if  he  ever  came  ashore.  On  account 
of  this  affair,  cheating  in  trade,  giving  poor 
rum  mixed  with  pei)per,  etc.,  a  strong  hatred 
naturally  s^Drang  u^  among  all  the  natives 
against  him,  and  they  refused  to  come  aboard 
and  trade.  I  then  got  a  dog  team  by  purchas- 
ing a  dog  here  and  there,  learned  to  drive  them, 
and  started  out  on  trading  expeditions,  making 
two  as  far  north  as  East  Cape  and  one  down  to 
Indian  Point  and  Plover  Bay. 

"The  farther  inland  I  went  on  my  expeditions 
the  more  hospitably  I  was  received,  although 
there  was  never  anything  left  undone  for  my 
comfort.  So  the  winter  j^assed.  Some  natives 
lived  aboard  the  ship,  and  through  them,  and  by 
my  expeditions,  considerable  trade  was  picked 
up.  We  had  plenty  of  deer  meat  all  the  time 
from  the  natives,  but  some  of  the  Kanaka  sailors 
refused  to  take  exercise  or  proper  care  of  them- 
selves, consequently  were  stricken  with  scurvy 
and  died.  While  I  was  on  one  of  my  expedi- 
tions, the  captain  traded  for  six  deer.  The 
natives  took  their  trade — a  keg  of  rum — in 
advance,  and  went  ashore  to  get  the  deer,  which 


S3Q  ARCTIC   ALASKA   AXD   >;IBERIA. 

were  inland.  I  returned  at  this  juncture,  and 
the  captain  asked  me  to  go  and  get  the  deer; 
but  when  I  found  what  trade  he  had  given 
them,  I  suggested  that  we  wait  untjl  the  liquor 
and  its  effects  had  disappeared.  He  then  said 
he  would  go  himself,  and,  in  spite  of  warn- 
ings from  the  re«t  of  us  and  the  friendly- 
natives,  he  started  off.  We  followed  him  with 
the  glass  and  soon  saw  there  was  trouble. 
We  could  see  the  team  returaing  in  great 
haste  and  a  crowd  following.  Afterward  we 
learned  that  the  friends  of  the  man  that  had 
been  drowned  and  a  few  other  natives,  incensed 
at  the  captain's  treatment  of  them,  had  followed 
his  team  and  sought  revenge.  The  captain 
fired  at  them  with  his  revolver,  then  threw  it 
away  and  fled  toward  the  ship,  but  was  soon 
overtaken,  pierced  by  an  arrow,  and  then 
stabbed' to  death.  I  endeavored  to  recover  the 
body,  but  could  not  find  a  trace  of  it,  the 
natives  saying  that  it  had  been  given  to  the 
dogs;  but  I  recovered  his  clothing.  The  mur- 
derers then  endeavored  to  induce  nil  the 
natives  along  the  coast  to  join  in  an  attempt 
to  seize  the  ship,  but  the  plot  never  came  to  a 
head. 


SOME   TYPICAL    EXPKKIENCB8.  333 

"When  the  natives  returned  to  their  huts 
aft^r'the  crime,  they  packed  up  everything, 
and,  driving  their  deer  before  them,  disap- 
peared. As  the  command  of  the  ship  now 
devolved  upon  me,  I  offered  a  large  reward  to 
anybody  who  would  bring  one  of  the  murder- 
ers near  enough  for  me  to  get  a  shot  at  him. 
This  offer  made  it  unsafe  for  us  to  venture 
ashore,  but  we  received  considerable  more  trade 
by  it  being  brought  aboard  to  us.  When  the 
whaling  season  opened  I  made  sail. 

"Each  year  afterward,  as  I  returned  north, 
I  renewed  my  reward  for  a  shot  at  one  of  the 
murderers,  simply  for  effect,  in  case  it  should 
be  necessary  for  others  to  winter  there.  After 
several  years  had  elapsed,  the  wives  of  two 
fellow-masters  asked  me  to  go  ashore  and  show 
them  the  native  huts,  but  we  had  not  more  than 
landed  when  the  two  brothers  of  the  drowned 
man  came  running  toward  me  with  big  knives 
ready  for  use;  but  I  kept  them  at  a  distance 
with  a  revolver  until  we  reached  a  safe  distance. 
The  father  and  one  of  the  brothers  were  after- 
ward frozen  to  death  while  journeying  to  the 
Ochotsk.  TSvelve  years  after  the  murder  the 
remaining  brother  sent  word  to  me,  asking  that 


234  ARCTIC   ALASKA   A:ND    SIBERIA. 

peace  be  declared.  I  agreed,  and  he  came  aboard 
to  see  me  the  next  day.  Four  years  ago,  while 
drunk,  this  fellow  went  through  the  settlement 
with  his  rifle,  shooting  into  each  hut  as  he 
passed  it.  In  one  he  narrowly  missed  shoot- 
ing a  little  girl,  and  her  twelve-year-old  brother 
seized  a  rifle  and  shot  him  dead." 


Ttiie  exd.  j 


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